The Renegade
by GothicRose13
Summary: SEQUEL TO GETTING TRAUGHT! The team sets out on a desperate search to find Robin, but discover more than they find they can handle. Now, the teens must stop The Light from going through with their evil plan and get Robin back- if there is any Robin left.
1. Assassination

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. Boo.

WELCOME BACK! I hoped everyone enjoyed the break. I did! After much thought, I know what I'm going to do with the sequel to Getting Traught. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ GETTING TRAUGHT THEN GO READ IT BECAUSE THIS IS THE SEQUEL!

If you have any suggestions, I'm all for them. Just no killing or inappropriate things. You know what I mean.

Now, I present to you, sequel to Getting Traught….

The Renegade

Chapter 1!

The dark figure was perched on top of one of the highest buildings in Gotham City. It crouched next to a snarling gargoyle, watching the ground for its prey. Find and kill, were the orders. Don't be seen, but leave a mark. Let them know you were there. Toy with them, taunt them, and let them know who's in charge. He didn't know who _they_ were, but he always did what his masters told him to, no questions asked.

He had been up here for so long that he was consumed in his thoughts. He had trained vigorously with his master for many months now. He could steal, lie effectively, disappear into shadows, take down bigger opponents in seconds, hack and control technology, kill, and many more things. He was getting better at it too, even though he had only been with his masters for a few months.

But every second spent with them, no matter what he was doing something was wrong. He felt as if he didn't belong there, that something was off. He felt as though there was something bigger out there, that there was someone inside him that could be more than who he was now. But that feeling always died whenever he trained. "You have no feelings." His master would say. And he was right.

The figure blinked as a person came out of the club across the street. He crouched down lower, making sure not to be seen. He was sure he couldn't be, even if the prey did look up, but as a master of stealth, he had to be sure.

The prey walked along the sidewalk and turned a corner. With impressive speed he shot up and jumped over to the next rooftop, silently following his prey. He followed him for about ten to twelve blocks, staying in the shadows as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

Finally, the prey walked up some steps to his apartment, took out his keys and unlocked the door. As he stepped inside his house, the dark figure leaped to the roof of the prey's apartment, scaled down the side of the building, and broke open the latch on the kitchen window. He slid inside, then closed the window and hid behind the counter as the kitchen light was turned on.

He heard the prey rummage through its pockets and set loose change, keys, its wallet, and everything else it carried on a table. Then he heard it put its coat on a hook.

As he recalled, the hook was by the door, so the prey's back was turned. He took that moment to slip out of his hiding place and stand behind the prey. He didn't make a sound.

They prey turned around and jumped back. "Gah!" it exclaimed, holding its hands up in defense. It lowered them when it realized it was only a boy.

The boy started to analyze the prey the way he had been taught. _Male_, he thought. _About six foot two, one ninety to two hundred pounds, mid-fifties, balding_. The boy also noticed how he leaned slightly to the side. _Leg injury- weak point. Target acquired._

It had only taken a second, not even, to analyze his prey. In an instant, the boy struck the man's leg, and he fell to the ground, sputtering.

"Who-who are you? What do you want?" The man asked. He tried to get up, but the boy stepped on his chest. He didn't say anything.

"Please- please I-I'll give you everything in my wallet, all my money, please, just don't hurt me!"

The boy ignored the man's blubbering pleas. He didn't tolerate weakness, and he didn't care for this man. He took a knife out of his back pocket and leaned down.

"No! No, please, please, don't kill me, please, I- HELP! HELP! PLEASE HE-"

But the man's cries were cut off as the knife was stuck in the side of his neck. The boy hadn't taken his eyes off of the man's- he watched as his eyes became glassy and blood spilled out of his mouth. The boy swiped the knife across the man's neck, cutting it open.

As he was taught, he felt nothing at all.

Make your mark, were the orders. Let them know you were here, and that they could do nothing.

The boy reached his gloved hand into the man's spilling blood, and went over to the nearest wall. And with the blood, he drew a large red 'x'.

The blood still dripped down the wall as the assassin disappeared out the window.

**AN- Ah, it's so good to be back. Hope you enjoyed. Btw it's been six months since the events in Getting Traught.**

**REVIEW! **


	2. False Hopes

Hello again! I got a lot more reviews than I thought I would. Thanks to all the awesome people who reviewed. You make the world go round.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas or Hanukah or whatever you celebrate!

And now onto….

Chapter 2!

M'gann carefully rested her scarred hand over her damaged bioship. It had been months since it crashed, but it was still trying to repair itself. It almost looked like normal, but was still slightly disfigured and lopsided. The young Martian girl sighed and gently stroked the side of her ruined ship.

"How is she?" M'gann jumped at the sound of Conner's voice. He could be so silent it amazed her.

"Oh, um, okay I guess. She got a lot better since we got into the accident, but she still needs some time."

Connor nodded and put his hand on Wolf's head. Neither of the aliens said a word. The cave had gotten so empty and depressing ever since Robin disappeared. He was the life of the team; what were they supposed to do now that he was gone? Who would be their little brother? Who would make fun of Wally? Who would help M'gann with hand to hand combat? Who would act as Kaldur's second in command? Who would teach Conner how to control his temper? Who would annoy Artemis to no end with his and Wally's pranks? The team was nothing without Robin.

They hadn't heard from this Deathstroke personally either, but they didn't have to. For the past two months, a string of murders had taken place all over Gotham. They were at random, however- there are no connections between the victims, so it is possible that they are chosen and killed just for sport- or a warning. If not for the red xs painted in the victim's blood on the walls of their homes (in which they have been killed) The League wouldn't know who was behind them.

M'gann couldn't understand why Robin would do such a thing- if it was Robin anymore. Zatara had explained to them a bit more about The Blue Trance. They believed Robin was acting on his own accord, as a result of excessive exposure to the potion. It seemingly had a negative effect on the brain, and caused Robin to believe that wrong was right, and right was wrong. If they ever got him back, he would need to be kept under constant watch and receive endless therapy. This did much to lower the team's spirits.

The Martian put her head into her hands and started to cry. Conner, who wasn't too helpful in these situations, put an arm around her.

"Don't worry. This isn't over. We'll get him back." She didn't know how he knew what she was thinking about, but then again, that's all anyone had been thinking about. Either that or it was some creepy boyfriend power.

"I know, but…" she turned to meet his icy eyes, "he won't be the same, will he?"

Conner was silent, and then said, "I wouldn't be. He's only human, M'gann."

She gave a small nod, and neither of them said anything else. They just stood in silence, enjoying each other's company. The past few months had been very hard. There had been no training or missions, only bed rest. The infirmary had become their new home, since for the first few weeks, no one could move. When they could, they weren't allowed to leave the cave. It drove The Team crazy, being cooped up inside. There was at least two League members watching them, but they always received the cold shoulder. No one wanted them around. Sure, they had been controlled, and were now clean of the potion, but Zatanna whispered to them once that the effects of The Blue Trance was amplified by a smaller desire somewhere deep inside of you. They had kept their distance all the same.

After what seemed like hours, Kaldur walked into the room. He, like everyone else, was drained of energy and paler than usual, with dark circles under his silver eyes. M'gann and Conner turned toward him lazily.

"There has been another murder." He announced dolefully.

**In the kitchen/den of The Cave**

"This is Cat Grant reporting live from the scene. Another mysterious murder has taken place; this time, the victim is Howard Stevens, 56, slain in his own kitchen.

"Stevens was found by the landlord around eight o'clock this morning. He seems to be the fifth victim of vicious 'Red X' who has been randomly targeting Gotham cities' civilians. Little is known about Red X or what he wants; only that he is out for blood. Now, here's an interview with Detective Harv-"

Superboy shut the television off and threw the remote down. "I can't stand this! How can they say all those horrible things about Robin?"

"Conner, they don't know it's Robin." M'gann said softly.

"And if we're lucky, they never will. Reputations are everything." Artemis said.

"Not that it matters." Red Arrow said. Everyone looked at him. "Oh, come on. If we safe him, do you really think that Batman will ever let him be Robin again? He probably won't let him leave their house. Only for therapy, not even."

Everyone was quiet. He was right- Robin would never be Robin again. Not that he would want to; if he ever got better, he would be consumed by the guilt of taking so many lives.

Wally stood up and glared at Roy. "There is no 'if' only 'when'. Of course we can get him back, and when we will, he'll- he'll get therapy…and…and everything will go back to normal." Wally's voice started to shake near the end. He hugged himself and looked at the ground. "Right?"

He wasn't right and everyone knew, but they wanted it to be right as well, so they didn't say anything. And they weren't sure if what Roy said would happen either; Superboy said he heard Superman and Batman discuss the probably of a mental institution. Batman would have none of it, but who knows? He might reconsider. Deep down, Batman knew an asylum might help him, but- no; he couldn't do that to Dick. Never….

"Kaldur, may I speak with you outside?" Roy said all of a sudden. Kaldur nodded and followed his friend into the hanger. Roy turned to him.

"It's been half of a year, Aqualad. We aren't getting any younger, and The League isn't getting anywhere. You swore we would act as soon as we could, and so help me I will make you keep that promise. We need to do something now!"

"I agree. I have already been planning our first move. We just need to wait for the right time to act. I doubt The League will let us go on our own, and although they might have ways to track our where a bouts, I plan not to inform them. I was going to consult you about it later. We act tonight."

Red Arrow smiled at his friend. "Good, let me hear it."

**AN: Sorry to stop there, but it's late and my mom is threatening to take my laptop. Anyway, no I haven't forgotten about the chip on Wally (thought I bet you did) and I plan to bring it up later.**

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	3. Escape

Writer's block….ugh. Well, I've decided where to go with this now. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Chapter 3!

_Everyone knows what to do?_ Aqualad asked mentally.

The team, along with Red Arrow, Zatanna, and Batgirl sat in the television room. No one spoke out loud; they sat or stood in various place in the room staring into space. But they had been telepathically speaking for about half an hour now as Aqualad explained his plan to his friends. Everyone nodded lightly in response to his question.

_Good. Flash and Captain Marvel are on watch duty. Your move, Kid Flash._

Wally nodded, stood up, and stretched a bit. Then, he shot to his room, sped changed into his Kid Flash uniform, and went to distract his uncle and the Captain as his friends got ready.

While he did that, Batgirl got to work on the security system. She wasn't nearly as good a hacker as Robin, but he had showed her a thing or two back in the day, and she was finally able to override it so they wouldn't be seen sneaking out.

In the hanger, M'gann spoke mentally with her bioship. She willed it to heal faster, and it somewhat complied; the dents straightened and it smoothed out. Miss Martian concentrated on helping it, her eyebrows knitting together in frustration. Superboy stood by her side, making sure no one came around and noticed what they were doing.

Finally, Aqualad, Red Arrow, Artemis and Zatanna came in. "How is the ship?" Aqualad asked, a bit nervous for the answer.

"Almost done!" Miss Martian responded cheerfully.

"Better hurry." Red Arrow said, glancing toward the doorway. They could hear Wally's voice asking about some random topic, but by his uncle's tone, he seemed to know what was going on.

"She's good!" Miss Martian said. Batgirl dashed into the hanger.

"Security system disabled. Are we ready yet?"

"Yes." Aqualad replied. _Kid, we are good to go._

_Good. I almost had to resort to asking about the weather. Yeesh!_

Kid Flash was suddenly below the bioship's open door, tapping his foot impatiently. "Come on! We already wasted six months of searching and I don't want to waste anymore! Hurry!"

"Relax, Baywatch, you're not the only here who cares about him you know." Artemis stated calmly as she strided past her irritated friend. Everyone else hurried inside the bioship and took their usual seats. Batgirl opened the bay doors with her wrist computer, and they were off.

"Finally. I can't remember the last time I've been outside." Superboy said, leaning back.

"Sweet freedom." The rebellious Zatanna agreed.

Aqualad smiled, glad that his teammates were in a decent mood.

"Remember," Aqualad said. Everyone turned to look at their leader, ready for another one of his inspirational speeches. "We are not at our best, both physically and mentally. Do not overwork yourselves, do not attack unless attacked. Do not let anyone we may run into get the best of you, and make sure to be careful. Understood?"

He was met with a chorus of "Yes's."

"Good. Now, let us hope we come back with our friend, and a way to bring him back to normal."

And with that, he sat down, and watched as the sun set over the ocean.

"Where to?" Miss Martian asked.

"I have a hunch." Kid Flash muttered.

**In The Cave**

Batman watched on the monitors as Kid Flash talked loudly to his uncle and Captain Marvel. The Captain seemed engaged in the conversation, but Flash looked suspicious. On the other, he watched Miss Martian and Superboy enter the hanger while the others, except for Batgirl, disappeared into their rooms. Batgirl went over to the wall, and connected some wires to her wrist computer. Then, all the screens went fuzzy.

Batman turned to a rather frightened looking Captain Marvel and a stony looking Flash.

"Well?" Flash asked. "Are we going after them?"

"No."

"No? They aren't fully healed, and they sneak out on a huge, dangerous mission they know nothing about. We should-"

"I've already made it clear that we let them go. I planted a tracker on Kid Flash some time ago, so if they find anything, or if something happens, we can intervene. We may need their help in the future, so we want them on our side. If we show them we trust them, we can work easier together."

Flash sighed in defeat. He knew better then to argue with Batman, especially when he used the 'don't talk back to me I'm the goddamn Batman' tone.

"Fine. I guess you have a point. Hold it. You bugged my nephew?"

Batman sighed. "Yes. Back at Wayne Tech. I was planning on using it for emergencies, but we got a bit preoccupied."

That was enough to shut Barry up. He still felt horrible about almost killing his nephew. He hadn't been able to look Iris, Rudy, or Mary in the eye since, much less Wally.

"Should I inform the rest of The League that the team decided to bail on us?" Captain Marvel asked.

"Not yet. Let's see what they come up with first. But if they are not back within ten to twelve hours, call The Watchtower."

"Rightie-o!" Captain Marvel replied. Batman and Flash turned to stare at him. "I mean, uh, yes sir!" He did a quick salute and smiled nervously. Flash shook his head as Batman left through the zeta beam. The first thing he wanted to do when he got to the Batcave was inform Alfred of the team's little escape trick. Whenever they found something pertaining to Dick's case (not much), he always went to Alfred first. The old man gave good advice and support in this hard time. Bruce did the same to Alfred, since he knew it was just as hard on him. Then, Batman would go to the Gotham City Police Department and inform Commissioner Gordon of any news (again, not much). In order for Barbara to stay at The Cave's infirmary, her father was informed of her secret identity, and responded with a mixed reaction. He had come straight to The Cave, told a red faced Barbara off in front of the team, waking them up from much needed rest, and was finally calmed down by Black Canary. Then Barbara was able to explain everything to him, and when he heard about Robin, decided to help with the case. Since then, Batman kept him posted.

He drove through Gotham on the Batmobile, letting his mind wander until an alarm went off.

"Master Bruce-" Alfred said through the small screen next to the dashboard.

"I can hear it Alfred. Someone broke into a store. I'm on it."

"Not a store, sir." This caught Batman's attention. "Wayne Tech."

**In an unknown location**

"Red X." Said a voice from one of the screens. The boy looked up. He made sure not to look scared or weak in front of his masters, but also wanted to make sure he knew that he bowed to them.

"You have pleased us. The public has received the message- we are not to be challenged, dealt with, or taken lightly. Soon, our ultimate plans will be taken into motion."

Red X smiled. He was glad that all the brutal training had paid off. That, and Deathstroke's constant speeches about how they were superior, feared, how they will affect the world for the better, that lives would be lost anyway because sacrifices needed to be made sometimes.

"There is one thing we need from you. For many months, Deathstroke taught you how to steal, and how to blend. You will need these skills for this mission."

"Anything, masters." Red X replied impassively. The voices sounded amused when they spoke again.

"There is a gene splicer in the most secure vault in Wayne Tech. We need it for our first step in domination. Deathstroke will brief you on where to go in the building. Retrieve the gene splicer by morning. If anyone gets in your way, draw blood."

"I will."

"Do not disappoint us."

Deathstroke came up behind Red X and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He never has."

**AN: Ugh, so late. Can't wait for new episodes! Better be soon. Hope to make the next chapter action packed. Just want to say that I love Alfred!**

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	4. Return to Wayne Tech

Wow, your reviews never fail to make my day. Anyway, apparently there are no new episodes until February. I think they secretly enjoy tormenting us. Cough* sickos *Cough.

School tomorrow. I will spend the whole night silently weeping.

Thanks to all who reviewed!

Chapter 4!

The bioship flew over the darkening city of Gotham unseen by its civilians. None of the teens spoke; they were consumed by the dread and worry of what they might find, if they found anything. Some of them had disagreed with Aqualad's idea to start close to home; The Light's castle was ages away, and under secret monitor of The League, who had only just found it again two months ago. But Aqualad wanted to investigate the homes in which the murders had taken place. Kid Flash argued that this was Robin they were dealing with, and he wouldn't leave a trace of anything behind, but Aqualad wanted to make sure. They did need someplace to start after all.

They had barely reached the first house when a very loud alarm went off somewhere. Superboy covered his ears and groaned, his super hearing making the loud beeping even more unbearable.

"Ugh! Where's that coming from?" He asked angrily. Batgirl checked her wrist computer. Her eyes went wide.

"Wayne Tech.!" She exclaimed, looking up at everyone. There was stunned silence as everyone turned to face Aqualad.

"You don't think…." Kid Flash started.

"Would they have him rob the same place again?" Artemis asked.

"Who knows?" Red Arrow responded. "Maybe they actually need something this time."

"Should I change the course?" Miss Martian asked Aqualad. He thought for a moment.

"This may not be him…." He trailed off into thoughtful silence.

"But what if it is?" Zatanna asked. Aqualad nodded.

"Miss Martian, set a course for Wayne Tech."

**Inside Wayne Tech.**

Who knew this place had a backup security system? Red X had taken great care in shutting off the main one before entering. He had entered through the roof, sliding down on one of his grappling hooks as quietly as possible. He had taken out two guards on duty as they rounded corners he was hiding behind; they hadn't even seen him. He used the computer sealed inside the bulky gauntlet on his left forearm to navigate through the endless corridors. He taken every exist able precaution, blending into the shadows like he was one. But finally, when Red X entered the large guarded room containing the gene splicer, that was when the back up security system decided to step in. First, a silent alarm went off alerting all the guards Red X hadn't jabbed in the neck and sent into a coma. When he delicately removed the gene splicer from its stand and placed it in the small, light, yet sturdy case he was provided with, guards flooded the room. The masked boy instantly went into a crouched, ready position.

"Freeze!" One guard yelled. He was closest to Red X, who scanned him. He noticed his wrist, which held a gun aimed at him, shook slightly. _Weak point detected. Target acquired._

Red X flipped forward, and roundhouse kicked the man's wrist. "Gah!" He shouted, and fell to his knees clutching his hand. Red X laced his fingers together, locked his wrists, and landed a blow on the guard's skull. He then fell to the ground, unconscious.

Shots rang out, but Red X dodged them with ease. He used his acrobatics to flip around; landing punches and kicks to the many guards surrounding him. At some point, he slid his jagged knife out of his utility belt, and made deep, long cuts in their arms, or stabbed them in their sides or legs. Finally, he took a glance around, noting the many men on the floor moaning and bleeding. With a cackle that he knew Deathstroke highly disapproved of, he slipped out of the room, heading back toward the roof. He laughed some more, just for the fun of it. Laughing at the pain of others, at his own victory, at his master's pleasure of a job well done. He secretly found his laugh creepy, but familiar, so he did it no matter how many times Deathstroke told him not to.

Red X descended onto the roof, glad that his mission had gone so smoothly. However, the sight he was met with when he got there made this feeling vanish instantly. Not that it had actually been there.

**Batman's POV**

Batman changed course to the direction of Wayne Tech. "I'll be late again tonight, Alfred." He said.

"Yes, I expected you will be." Alfred said tiredly. He had been in a sadder mood lately, Bruce had noticed.

He drove way past the speed limit on his way to his company. He knew what had happened last time it had gotten robbed, and had a hunch that whoever it was this time might be there for more than just a warning. The thought made his foot press down harder on the pedal and his hands grip the steering wheel tighter.

Due to Wayne Tech. being such a large building, he could see the top of it from where he was. Lights flashed from the inside, and he thought he heard gun shots form where he was. The guards only shot when they were being attacked. It could be him….

No. He couldn't hold his own against dozens of armed guards, could he? Batman always thought very highly of Robin, but… unless they had been training him?

The thought made Batman shiver. Yes- _Batman shivered._ If they had been training him, then who knows what horrible new skills Robin now possessed. Or the things he knew- surely he was well informed about The Light's true intentions. But he was still being brain washed.

If there was any Robin left in him, Batman hoped he was fighting Red X.

He parked in front of Wayne Tech., and looked up to see a bright red alien ship at the top of the building.

**AN: I was going to make it longer, but I decided that I want to stretch everything out a bit. I will be keeping constant different POVs since this is third person narrative. **

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**OR I WON'T UPDATE FOR A YEAR!**


	5. Outmatched

Back again! Ugh, starting to prep for midterms on the first day back. Constant torture.

I have everything planned out, although the chapters might not be as long as I hope. Boo.

Thanks to all who reviewed!

Chapter 5!

Red X instantly went into a defensive crouch. He had not expected to see a group of teens, maybe a little older than him, on the roof of Wayne Tech. He counted eight, and all of them had on superhero costumes, and some had weapons pointed at him. That was a sign that they were a threat. He continued to study them as he had been taught, looking for visible strengths and weaknesses.

In turn, the team studied the new Robin. They could only barely tell it was him. He was visibly paler, almost white, and his hair was spikier. He wore a black uniform made of Kevlar, and there was a bulky gauntlet on his left arm. He still had on a mask, along with a larger, grey belt and large black boots. He watched them silently.

Finally, a tall, mature looking one with dark skin and light hair stepped forward. He never took his eyes off of Red X; he didn't even blink.

"We are giving you the chance to surrender. If you come with us, you will not be harmed. If not, we will be obligated to take you in by force."

Red X noticed how his face was set and stern, but his eyes were slightly nervous. He gripped what seemed to be silver handles looser than he should have. Red X smiled. He wasn't supposed to talk on missions; he was taught that they were too civil and superior for that- but he couldn't help himself. He set down the case and said:

"I don't do surrender."

He threw a smoke bomb on the ground and disappeared behind a large metal air vent (**?**) on the roof. While the dark skinned one- the leader, he presumed- had been talking, he had assessed all their strengths and weak points.

Red X listened to their coughing, and heard them stagger around, trying to see. "Fan out!" A voice said. The assassin lay in wait, crouching.

Finally, a figure came around the corner, her back to him. She had red hair and green skin- he wasn't around people much, but Red X felt that wasn't normal. When she was close enough, he landed a blow to her back. She fell with a cry of pain and surprise.

"M'gann!" A low, angry voice cried.

A rather large boy with black hair and unnaturally blue eyes jumped out of nowhere and aimed a kick at Red X. The boy seemed surprised at how easily it was dodged, considering his super speed. Red X removed a gas pellet from his belt and threw it near the boy, who started to choke. He grabbed his neck and went into a coughing fit, and then fell to the ground next to the green girl, moaning.

Suddenly, something landed next to Red X. It was long and thin and started beeping; it was an arrow. He jumped out of the way before it exploded in his face, and looked to the direction it came from. A large boy with auburn hair stood next to a rather attractive looking girl with dark hair and blue eyes on top of the door to the roof. The boy had a bow in his hands and was shooting more arrows at Red X. "Stop! We're trying to help you!" The boy shouted. Red X dodged the arrows with ease, and sent a disc toward the boy, which exploded when he tried to block it with his bow. The girl next to him shouted something he didn't understand, and a shield formed around her, saving her from the attack. Then she jumped down so she was only a few feet in front of him. Red X smiled at her mistake. She held her hand out and said, "Sepor dnib-" but was cut off when he swept her feet out from under her. She hit her head on the hard ground and fell into unconsciousness, her eyes slightly open.

Four down, four to go.

He heard a rushing sound, like water, and whirled around. The leader was aiming his handles at him, and water came rushing at Red X. He moved to one side, but was splashed head to toe with water. The leader then placed his hands on the ground, sending a current toward the boy. He screamed as he got electrocuted, and fell to the ground. The leader rushed over to the fallen assassin, and gave a cry of pain as a knife was plunged into his foot. Now it was his turn to fall.

"But…how?"

"I'm used to electrical shock. It was part of my training." Red X replied. The leader was clearly the strongest and most reasonable. He would have to go.

Red X removed another knife, a smaller one, from his belt. He raised it above his head, getting ready to end the leader. Suddenly, something hit his hand and the knife went flying into the dark. He looked into the direction of the projectile and saw a girl with red hair and a cowl standing there, holding another boomerang.

"Leave him alone!"

"Or what?" Red X asked mockingly. He noticed how the girl's head was tilted, and flipped over to her. He aimed kicks at her, but she blocked them with ease. Red X briefly wondered why she didn't fight back before whacking her in the head. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

Red X scanned the rooftop. Two more, and then he could bring his prize to his masters. They would be so pleased. He would get much praise, and-

Three more arrows landed near him. He jumped back before they went off, and turned towards his newest attacker. A girl with a mane of blond hair and a green mask stood with more arrows aimed at him.

"Don't move a muscle."

"Don't need to."

Red X held up a remote. The girl looked down, and saw small bombs he had thrown towards her when he had flipped back from her arrows. She gasped and backed up, lowering her bow. Red X took the opportunity to front flip over to her, and kick her in the head. She fell down.

"Artemis!" A voice cried.

Red X jumped back as a red headed boy wearing canary and scarlet knelt down beside her. Then he stood up and turned to face Red X.

"Aww, I'm sorry. Was that your girlfriend?" He taunted.

The ginger glared at him. "We're trying to save you!" He exclaimed. Red X raised his eyebrow in mock curiosity. Save him? From what? He wasn't in trouble. He killed people because it was necessary. He was taught that societies must unite with themselves, or perish form weakness. But it would work out. Deathstroke told him that in order for them to improve the world, they had to make sacrifices. And he was proud to be with them, and help with the cause. It was logical, and Red X and his masters were all about logic.

Red X glanced at the blond girl behind the ginger. Then, something occurred to him. _Weak point detected. Target acquired._

"Who says I want to be saved?" Red X asked in a low, cold voice.

He pressed the button on his remote. The ginger picked up the blond and tried to dash away. Red X admitted that he thought the ginger was fast, but the force of the small bombs made him fly into the wall, where he two lost consciousness.

Red X picked the case up from where he left it, and flipped away, cackling.

**Batman's POV**

He watched Robin battle his former teammates. He watched how he expertly stayed in the shadows, how he watched and waited for the precise moment to strike. How he used his new gadgets, likes knives and bombs, to injure his past companions. Batman watched how he took down first M'gann, then Connor, Roy, Zatanna, Kaldur, Barbara, Artemis and Wally. His suspicions were confirmed; they had definitely taught the boy some new tricks. He was even used to being shocked- had they been torturing him? Probably.

When Ro- Red X- was finished with the teens, he took his case and flipped away, jumping skillfully from rooftop to rooftop. He didn't even notice Batman when he passed, which was poor observational skills. Maybe he hadn't mastered everything.

Batman waited until Red X was out of sight before calling for Captain Marvel to contact The League and send over medical assistance to his coordinates. Then, Batman headed back to the Batmobile to put the stolen gene splicer in a special compartment, where he would return it to Wayne Tech. in the morning.

**On the roof of Wayne Tech.**

Superboy carefully helped Aqualad to his feet. The team was just regaining consciousness, and had to help each other stand up. No one said a word. They were too shocked.

Robin had changed a lot more than they had expected, in both skills and personality. He didn't seem to know who he was fighting, judging by the comments he had made toward Kid Flash, but only he seemed to notice. He helped Artemis to her feet, but didn't pay her much attention. He had the urge to go home, crawl into bed and sleep forever.

Finally, Red Arrow sighed. "I knew they might have taught him new things, but… geez."

"It's like we barely put up a fight." Batgirl said quietly.

"How did he do it?" Superboy asked. "He was outnumbered!"

"True." Aqualad said. He looked off into the direction he was sure Red X disappeared into. "But we were outmatched."

**AN: Fight scenes are boring. That took me hours to write. Just so you know, the first part was in Red X's POV. Sorry if I didn't make the team try to fight hard enough, but Red X was just too good for them . Also, I wanted this part to be action-y so the team didn't try to communicate with him a lot, but that will come later when there's more to talk about.**

**REVIEW!**


	6. Punishment

Hello again! In a tired but good mood today. Ready for some more!

Thanks to all who reviewed!

Chapter 6!

"It was absolutely careless!" Black Canary exclaimed. "You've been out of commission for months, and then you think you can just sneak back into the field without any prep?"

She had been yelling at the team since The League came and dragged them back to the mountain. She had gone on about how careless and ignorant there decisions were as the other league members patched up their protégés. Finally, Batman spoke up.

"Alright, Black Canary, I think they've had enough. I need to speak to them. Alone."

The League member filed out of the infirmary one by one, Black Canary being last to leave. Before she did, she turned around and mouthed _you're next_ to Batman. He turned back to the team. "What did you find?"

"We… ran into Robin. In a manner of speaking." Aqualad replied. Batman raised an eyebrow.

"He… wasn't quite himself. He fought us. And won." Batgirl said.

"I don't think he knew who we were." Kid Flash whispered.

"What makes you say that?" Batman asked.

"Just… something he said." KF replied. He wasn't about to tell them how Robin thought Artemis was his girlfriend.

Batman nodded. "He tried to steal from Wayne Tech. They probably made him."

"You mean those loons who kidnapped him?" Zatanna asked.

"They're planning something." Aqualad said thoughtfully. "Something…big. What do you mean he 'tried to'?"

"He was…unsuccessful." Batman said. His tone told them not to ask about it anymore. Batman didn't want to tell them he had watched Robin fight them. They would probably get upset over being followed, and be even more upset that he didn't step in and help them.

"So now what?" Red Arrow asked.

"We keep an eye out for more suspicious activity. If we need help, we'll call you." And with that, Batman left the room.

"Why do I have a feeling he won't call?" Artemis asked.

"What does it matter? If something happens, we'll just sneak out again." Superboy stated.

"Hopefully, we won't have to." Aqualad replied.

"The news said he tried to steal a gene splicer." Batgirl said, reading from her wrist computer. "They don't know how it was returned, but he didn't get it."

"So I guess Robin failed his mission." Kid Flash said flatly.

"I wonder what they'll do to him?" Miss Martian said worriedly.

**In an unknown location**

Red X hit the floor hard, and on his side, bruising his waist even more. His masters were not happy when he had returned with an empty case and no explanation. He tried to tell them about the teens he ran into and how he took on all eight of them by himself, but that only made matters worse. They chastised him for being careless and letting the heroes find him before completing the mission. They blamed him for not retrieving the gene splicer, therefore ruining the chances to go through with the first step of their plan. Finally, Deathstroke had taken him back up to Red X's Tower (**that's the official name for it**). He shoved his apprentice so hard he bruised.

"Despicable!" He shouted. Red X cringed. "Careless! Unacceptable!"

Red X watched him from the floor, fear starting to bubble up inside of him. "I know, I know, I'm sorry master, I failed you."

"No, Red X, not just me, but our entire purpose, our drive. What if we cannot go through with our plan? Our ideas will have an ameliorating effect on the human society. We seek to influence and help them. We need to show them our ways, a new light. And now, you have ruined it!"

With that last comment he struck Red X hard across the face so hard he crashed into the floor. "You will learn the price of failure, boy. It was the only thing I hoped I'd never have to teach you."

And the pain began.

**The Cave**

Wally writhed in his bed. He was having horrible nightmares. He was in a large, circular shaped dark room, and Robin was there, with that Deathstroke guy, and he was beating the crap out of him. With every hit, Wally would twitch and moan. He felt for his lost friend and the pain he was stealing. Wally and his team weren't stupid; they knew it was Bats that stole back the gene splicer. But if they knew that this is what they would have done to Robin, then would he have? Batman wasn't stupid either. He knew criminal minds better than anyone. Surely he would have some idea of how they handled failure.

Wally gasped and sat up. Everyone on his team crowded around his infirmary bed. "It's about time." Roy said to M'gann, who had her fingers on her temples.

"Wh-what happened?" Wally asked, wiping cold sweat off of his forehead.

"You were screaming." Artemis said blankly. "You wouldn't wake up, so we had M'gann wake you up herself."

"What happened?" M'gann asked. Wally put a shaky hand on his forehead through his hair and shook his head slowly.

"I-I think I saw Rob… that guy, Deathstroke or whatever, he was… he was…." Wally didn't finish, but everyone knew what he was going to say.

"How awful. How could they? He's just a kid!" Zatanna said.

"I am sure they will not seriously injure him." Kaldur said quietly. "They do need him, after all."

"Yeah, for their evil plans." Roy said flatly.

"Better than him being dead!" Wally shot.

"Chill, kid." Roy responded.

"Do you think they'll have him try again?" M'gann asked.

"I hope so. Then we'll know where to find him." Barbara said after she got strange looks.

"Well, I guess we know where to go next then." Artemis said.

"It says they moved the location, but not where." Barbara said, reading from her wrist computer. She looked towards the door. "But I bet I can find out." She stood up, and was about to go ask Bruce, but suddenly an alarm went off.

"I guess you don't have to." Wally said, and they all ran out of the infirmary.

**AN: Sorry for not posting yesterday, I was exhausted. And this is just a little fill in chapter; I wasn't really feeling it today. Next chapter will be better, hopefully.**

**REVIEW! **


	7. Hackers

Hello! Sorry for the long break I've been super busy with midterms and sports. And I also had no idea on how to continue this.

By the way, I think the song Haunted by Taylor Swift is a good theme song for this story.

Thanks to all who reviewed!

Chapter 7!

Red X was lying in his bed, unmoving. His mind was a blank- he didn't think, didn't sleep. He was still and absolutely silent. His cold eyes stared off into nowhere, and he didn't make a sound, not even when he breathed. He was, as always, empty.

Finally, Red X tried to move, but found it difficult. He was incredibly sore, and dried blood and cold sweat clung to his light grey skin. His muscles and bones hurt whenever he moved. His vision was dizzy, and the room spun when he tried to walk. Finally, he collapsed onto the hard wood floor. He sat there on his knees for what seemed like hours to him. It was then, Deathstroke strided into the room, holding his hands behind his back.

"Well, Red X, have you learned your lesson?"

Red X's voice was barely audible when he said; "Yes, master."

"Good. What will you do now?"

"Retrieve the gene splicer."

"And?" Deathstroke pressed.

"Make sure I actually bring it back this time."

"Good. We hacked the Justice League's main database. The gene splicer has been relocated to a protected warehouse on the Gotham Docks. Recover it from there, and this time make sure you have it with you." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "We do not, as I have told you, tolerate failure here. Do not let this happen again. If it does, I assure you, you will not survive the consequences."

"Yes, master." Red X whispered, staring at the floor.

Deathstroke turned to leave. "You depart in half an hour. Pick yourself up. You learn from pain." He stopped at the door. "Oh, and Red X."

The boy looked up lazily.

"This time, leave no survivors."

And once again, the assassin was left alone in the dark.

**The Cave**

"What is it? What's wrong?" Wally asked desperately as he bounded into the main part of The Cave.

"The Justice League's main database has been hacked." Flash responded, earning glares from other league members.

"I didn't think it was possible for it to be hacked." M'gann said in a surprised tone.

"Robin could." Barbara said quietly. There was a moment of silence in the Cave.

"Batman, can you track the hacker's location?" Superman asked as The Dark Knight typed away furiously. There was more silence when Batman didn't respond. Finally, he stopped typing.

"Gone," He said in a dangerously controlled voice. "Like they were never there."

"These guys are good." Green Arrow mumbled while shaking his head.

"Who else do we know that has these kinds of hacking abilities?" Red Tornado asked. The League was quiet as they went through all the evil technology geniuses they've fought. The Team looked at one another. Who else did they know with these kinds of hacking abilities?

_There are a few people…_ thought M'gann.

_Yes._ Kaldur agreed. _We know lots of technical geniuses. Professor Ivo, T.O Morrow, Cadmus, the Brain. It could be any of them._

_Well, this is helpful._ Artemis scoffed._ How do we know which one?_

"Team." Batman's cold, hard voice pulled them out of their mental conversation. "The Justice League is to pursue this. You will stay here and resume training with Black Canary." He turned to the League. "Superman, Green Arrow and Wonder Woman, you will head to Belle Rev, see if you can find any suspects. Red Tornado, Aquaman and I will head to Arkham. Flash, Martian Manhunter and Zatara, head to Central City Correction Center (**an: made that up**)." He turned back toward the team. "If we find anything, we will inform you."

_That's a first._ Conner thought.

_He actually intends to. I can tell._ M'gann replied, somewhat surprised.

_Well, we do need to stay and train more._ Wally thought.

_How come?_ Zatanna asked, crossing her arms.

_You saw Robin. If we're gonna take him, we'll have to step up our game. A lot._ Roy replied. Everyone turned to Kaldur. He turned toward The League, who probably knew about the psychic conversation they were having.

"Alright," Aqualad said solemnly to The Dark Knight. The League exchanged shocked glances, and even Batman himself raised an eyebrow.

"Good." He said, suspicion crawling into his tone. "Move out." He told The League, and the groups left through separate zeta beams. Black Canary turned toward the teens.

"I don't know what you were planning, but I assure you that you will not be leaving this cave until Batman gives the okay."

"There is no plan." Kaldur stated with an edge of steel in his voice. "We will stay and train. Throw everything you have at us." Canary raised her eyebrows in surprise as the Team got into offensive positions.

"Alright then… let's get started."

**Gotham Docks**

Red X was perched on the top of the ancient warehouse on Gotham Docks. He was waiting for the last of the dock workers to leave before stealing back the gene splicer- well, that was half of the reason why. The other half was that he was still in intense pain from his earlier beating. He didn't think he had the strength or energy to fight off any guards. He just wanted to slip in and out without trouble. On his way here, Red X wondered why Deathstroke had sent him out right after his unpleasant new 'lesson'. It was clear he was in bad shape, and couldn't fulfill the mission quite as smoothly and efficiently as he usually would have been able to. But then it took a strange headache for Red X to realize that Deathstroke only did do because he wanted him to learn. He knew deep down that his master cared very much for his well-being and wouldn't want to injure him on purpose. Before had only been a lesson. If Red X did what his master had so generously taught him to, it would never happen again.

Finally, the last worker left. Red X scaled the side of the warehouse and broke one of the windows closest to him. He slid inside and looked around.

The building was absolutely huge. There were shelves piled high with boxes and crates, all gigantic. There had to be hundreds of them. Red X moaned; this would take forever! He jumped to the ground, and glanced around again, this time slower. He had to find the gene splicer. Who knows what they would do to him if he failed again? _The Light did, obviously._ Red X's very logical brain told him.

He went to his bulky gauntlet and brought up a map of the warehouse. Let's see, where would they put a gene splicer that someone previously tried to steal? In a secure area, like Deathstroke said. Red X found where they keep the guarded items, and made his way to his target.

He had almost made it, too, when he heard a noise, and ducked for cover in an aisle. A guard passed him, and Red X slid forward, which is when he bumped into another one.

"Hey!" The security guard shouted. The one that passed turned around in curiosity.

"You! Stop right there!" Said the guard in front of Red X.

"That's him! That's the kid that tried to rob Wayne Tech.!" Said the other guard. Red X frowned at the word 'tried'.

"Contact The Le-" but the guard didn't say another word. Red X kicked him in the stomach, and then bashed him on the head. The guard fell to the ground.

_Leave no survivors_.

Red X took the crooked knife from his front pouch and shoved it in the guard's back. He turned to the second guard, who was just putting away a walkie talkie.

"It's too late. The Justice League is on their way." Red X didn't know who they were, but flipped over to the other guard, and took out his probe. "Was that supposed to frighten me?" He asked in a mockingly threatening tone. The guard looked at his knifed companion and gasped. Red X continued. "Because I think it's you who should be frightened."

And Red X shoved the probe into the guard's stomach. He let out an agonizing scream, and fell to the ground, twitching. Red X probed him again, over and over, until the twitching stopped.

"No survivors." He whispered. Deathstroke wouldn't be disappointed again.

Red X turned and went back to looking for the gene splicer as if nothing happened.

**The Cave**

The team had been dueling each other when the alarm went off. "Again?" Wally muttered. He was intent on training- and he had been beating Artemis in their one on one. Black Canary went over to the monitor.

"It's a distress signal from a warehouse on Gotham Docks." She frowned.

"What?" Red Arrow asked.

"I'd better contact the rest of The League." She said. The team got together as she did so.

"What's going on?" Batgirl asked.

"I don't know, but they're excluding us again." Superboy said, crossing his arms and turning to look at Black Canary who was on with Batman.

"It must be important. You saw Canary's face." Artemis said.

"Let's just ask her." Miss Martian suggested. "Batman said they'd tell us anything."

"And you believed him?" Artemis rolled her eyes and Black Canary came over to them.

"Someone broke into a warehouse at Gotham Docks." She stated flatly. There was a glint of worry in her eyes.

"And?" Aqualad pressed. Canary sighed in defeat.

"That's where we hid the gene splicer." It took a moment for that to sink in. The teens looked at each other in worry. Finally, Kid Flash broke the silence.

"I bet fifty bucks I know who it is- ow!" Artemis smacked his head.

"So that is why they hacked The League's database. To discover the location of the gene splicer."

"Yes." Black Canary clarified. "Batman wants you to go there, now. I've already sent the coordinates. Good luck."

"Thank you." Aqualad said, and the team raced to the hanger.

"I have a feeling you'll need it." Canary said worriedly, hugging herself.

**AN: Sorry again for taking so long. Please don't hurt me. Next chapter will be interesting, though.** **I have something devious planned, something that you will never see coming… but you'll have to wait 'cuz I'm not going to spoil it! MWAHAHAHAHA!**

**REVIEW!**


	8. Round Two

*Dodging knives and bullets and pitchforks* so sorry for the long wait. I've had lots of midterms and training and boring school stuff like that. Please don't kill me I know you've been waiting for the next part.

Sorry if some things seem unrealistic but remember this is a fanfic and I need to change things for the plot.

Thanks to all who reviewed!

Chapter 8!

He had been wandering around the warehouse for ages. He had taken out the guards when he got to the (very poorly) guarded area and was now digging through some valuables, like jewelry, robotics, weapons, and other things worth guarding. He couldn't find the gene splicer.

_Think logically, Red X. Where would they put it?_

He stopped for a second, and took a look around. His eyes scanned over boxes and crates full of useless valuables, and finally came to rest on a pile near the front.

_It just came in, so it would be near the entrance._

He stepped over to the pile of crates and opened the one on top.

Bingo.

He took out the case and carefully placed the gene splicer in it. He triple checked the lock this time so no one would take it again, and secured the case on his back. Whoever had stolen it from him the first time must have been talented- Red X hadn't seen them, the lock had been picked so well he didn't notice, and they didn't leave any finger prints behind, as he had determined beforehand. He suspected it was one of the children he faced, who The Light had called 'the cheap knockoffs' when he told them. He didn't know who they were supposed to be the knockoffs of, but they might have been better than he gave them credit for. He would not underestimate them again.

Case gripped tightly in one hand, Red X made towards the window he had previously broken. He recalled the guard mentioning calling for someone, and he didn't want to stick around to meet them. The last thing he needed was more trouble. He still wasn't in the best shape, and just wanted to get back and show his masters that he wasn't a failure.

That was when he heard voices.

Red X froze in that instant. He noticed a large metal rack full of boxes next to him, and climbed up the first few platforms as quietly as he could. He backed into the darkness, quietly looking around for the source of the voices.

Then he saw them. It was the same eight children he fought when he lost the gene splicer. The sight of them caused an unfamiliar rage to bubble in his stomach. Did they know how much he had suffered because of them? Did they know how much trouble they had caused him? He wanted nothing more than to jump down from his hiding place and fight them, hurt them, leave no survivors, but he wasn't up to fighting the knockoffs. He concluded that he would go back to base, and tell Deathstroke that there hadn't been any trouble. He would face them again, though; he was sure of that. Then he would finish them. The thought brought a twisted smile to his face.

They were walking in the open space between the two main shelves. They had weapons drawn, or fists bared, and slowly made their way closer to Red X. They spoke in quiet voices, but the warehouse was big and empty, therefore Red X could hear every word. The dark skinned one that had almost drowned him seemed to be giving orders, based on his tone. He was the leader, as Red X recalled.

"Stay together, and if you see him, keep a distance. He specializes in hand to hand combat, but watch out for any weapons he might throw at you. And remember; don't let your guard down."

Red X couldn't help but smile; did they really think they had what it took to defeat _him_? He was Red X, best assassin to ever join The Light's ranks. And the cheap knockoffs planned on taking him on? He had to suppress a cackle.

"What was that?" One of them, a large, dark haired boy asked. He looked around in suspicion.

"What's wrong?" A green girl with red hair asked. Red X noticed how the boy's while persona relaxed slightly when he looked at her.

"I heard something." He said. This made all of them stiffen and take on offensive positions. Red X grinned. They looked silly. There they were, out in open, waiting for him to attack them. Why would he, though? He had what he came for, and they didn't know exactly where he was, so why not just sneak away? They looked so rigid- that was no way to fight. They had to be relaxed. Injured or not, professional or not, he couldn't help himself. Red X loved to mess with people, and decided to have some fun with the posers. He carefully reached into his belt, and removed some smoke bombs. They reached his opponents just as the large one spotted him and yelled, "Hey!"

With a rather disturbing cackle, he used his grappling hook to swing from shelf to shelf as his foes coughed and staggered around, trying to find him. He landed on the top of the shelf across, about twenty-five feet above them. One of them, who was wearing yellow and red, ran around with impressive speed, clearing the smoke. When it cleared, Red X laughed again, catching their attention.

"So taut and serious! I should teach you a thing or two." He taunted.

"Stay together." Aqualad ordered, eyeing Red X carefully.

"Oh, you think you can take me? You know what they say; if you can't take the heat-" his expression turned dark, "then don't mess with me." He held his gauntlet out toward them, and set it into a special flame thrower mode.

"Look out!" Aqualad said, and they dived out of the way of the oncoming flames. They took cover behind various crates and boxes, trying to stay away from the scalding blazes of pyre. Red X laughed hysterically as he watched them scatter around like aunts. "What's the matter? Afraid of a little fire?" He laughed again.

Artemis aimed an arrow at his gauntlet from her place behind a rack of ancient Incan treasures. She let the arrow fly, and it hit Red X directly in the arm. He let out a cry of pain, and grabbed his already bruised arm to his side. When the others noticed that the wall of inferno was gone, they crept out to see Red X clutching his arm in pain. He looked down at Artemis, his masked face twisted with rage. She was suddenly filled with dread.

"I think you made him mad." Kid Flash whispered to her. She glared at him.

Red X ripped the arrow out of his arm, swallowed the white hot pain, and removed dozens of miniscule throwing knives. No one shot him and lived. No one.

Knives rained down upon The Team, but these Miss Martian could actually block, as opposed to deadly fire. Red X growled in anger. No more messing around. His orders were to kill anyone that got in his way, and these posers were definitely getting in the way. His turned to his gauntlet, and grinded his teeth when he saw that the blonde archer had ruined it. He took sharp, flat discs from his belt, and jumped down from his perch, getting ready to face The Team. He would get the blonde first.

The moment his feet hit the ground, Red X sent the discs flying toward his foes. They jumped back or dodged the razors sharp weapons, and sent their own at him. Red X avoided arrows, water whips, small shock waves, and various objects that were sent at him. The large boy and the red headed boy came at him. He moved out of the way of the large boy, who lacked balance, and when the red head grabbed him, Red X flipped him over. The boy landed on the ground with a thud.

He eyed the blonde girl, and took out one of his favorite knives; not too long, thin but sharp, and jagged. He flipped around a rather attractive looking dark haired girl, and landed a few feet away from the archer. He pulled his arm back and sent the knife soaring toward the blonde's torso.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. The archer was frozen in terror as the knife came toward her with a frightened expression on her face. Everyone else watched in equal terror, fearing what would happen in the next second. Red X flipped backward, away from the team. He watched the knife sail toward Artemis.

But suddenly, Artemis wasn't the target. Kid Flash had pushed her out of the way at the very last second, and the knife buried itself into his stomach.

Red X bared his teeth in anger. He prepared to launch himself at them again. Straight for the archer- yes, he would get her.

"Wally!" She cried in agony. Red X froze on the spot. Wally.

She was at the red headed one's side in a moment. He was breathing deeply, his hand clutching his stomach, which was dripping red liquid.

Red X watched as red head's team came over to help him. Aqualad turned to Red X, and looked genuinely surprised to see that he was still standing there with a shocked expression on his face.

Red X kept his eyes on the red head, or Wally. The name was familiar… it made him feel warm on the inside… safe and care free. Almost… happy- but sad as well.

Sad because he was hurt.

"Wally." Red X whispered. He could barely be heard, but he was. They all turned to look at him. They didn't miss the almost soft, yet confused look. The shock, the fear, the nostalgia.

"Who… who are all of you?" He whispered, backing away.

Wally coughed from his place in Artemis's arms. His weak eyes met Red X's.

"You… remember?" He croaked. Red X was quiet.

"Rob? Robin?" Wally said.

Suddenly, Red X was filled with will emotion. He wasn't used to all this emotion. He was deeply upset, afraid, and full of pain, regret, longing, and panic. Eight pairs of eyes watched him, each a little hopeful. Red X's breathing became hitched. He was far away from them, and longed to be further. But he didn't want to go back to Deathstroke.

_Yes you do. He's who you are._ Said a conniving voice in his head.

_No!_ Said a quieter one._ You choose who you are, not him. You know who you are. He can't change you. No one can change you._

Red X was overwhelmed. He turned and ran. He ran from the team, from Wally, from the quiet voice. It disappeared as he went closer to Deathstroke, his master. The conniving voice got louder. He held onto it. It seemed to be the only thing he heard.

_Yes. You are an assassin. The Light commands you. The Light._

"The Light." Red X whispered.

**Young Justice**

The Team watched Red X run away from them in silence. They turned to look at each other. The only noise was Wally's heavy breathing.

Red Arrow put pressure on his wound. "Someone call The League." He said in a controlled whisper. No one moved. "NOW!" He roared, making everyone jump.

"On it." Miss Martian whispered, and went to contacting Black Canary. Superboy turned to look at Aqualad, who had turned to look in the direction Red X had disappeared into.

"What do you think?" He whispered to the leader. Aqualad turned to everyone.

"I think something changed in him." Aqualad said quietly. "He came to a realization. He remembered... somewhat."

Zatanna shook her head in disbelief. "I'd never think it was possible." She said.

"That's good though, right?" Batgirl asked. "He sort of knew who we were."

"He didn't. He had a feeling he did. And it scared him." Red Arrow mumbled.

"Yes." Aqualad agreed sadly.

"Why's it bad? If he knew now, who's to say he won't again in the future?" Miss Martian questioned.

"He did not understand. It frightened him, and he did the only thing he would think to do." Aqualad turned back to where his friend had been standing.

"He went back to them."

**AN: This took me hours! I finally wrote one that's over 2,000 words! Yay me! Anyway, I'm still gonna be busy, so expect one update a week. **

**Poor Wally! Will I kill him? I might… MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**REVIEW!**


	9. Survivors

Okay, chill people I was kidding. I'd never kill Wally. I'm an evil genius, but I'm not heartless. I had midterms last week so I just didn't have the time to update. They're over though, so I'm happy.

Misplaced will air on March 3rd. Boo.

Thanks to all who reviewed!

Chapter 9!

The Justice League was hesitant to believe The Team's story at first. They had come as soon as Miss Martian alerted Canary, and Kid Flash had been transported to the Watchtower only minutes after their arrival. The rest of The Team was ordered back to The Cave, to their dismay. When they got there, Aqualad told The League everything that had happened; his teammates would jump in every now and then with a detail he might have missed. Finally, when he was finished, everyone turned to Batman.

"That was everything? You're sure?" He asked cautiously. The League members relaxed when they saw Batman had believed them. He could, after all, tell when he's being lied to.

"Yes, positive." Aqualad responded. Batman nodded slowly, buying himself some time to think. Robin went back to them. It was clear they had a strong hold on him. Batman didn't know how they would get him back. Robin's mind was twisted, his logic bent. He concluded that Robin responded to logic, as his new methods were that of a thinker. But what he thought was logical actually wasn't….

"What about Wally?" Red Arrow asked. Batman blinked.

"Kid Flash has been taken to the Watchtower's medical bay. We will update you regularly on his condition, but I expect he'll make a full recovery due to his quick healing abilities." The Team nodded, but their minds seemed to be elsewhere. Batman figured that they were thinking about the miniscule breakthrough they had with Robin. He wasn't there, but he knew it must have seemed miraculous to The Team, even if he did retreat back to them.

"The League will look into the warehouse's robbery for any more details on why they wanted the gene splicer. For now, you will all remain here and continue your training. If we find anything, you will be informed." And with that last note, Batman departed.

_Do you think Wally will be okay?_ M'gann asked in a small, scared voice.

_You heard Batman. He can heal pretty quickly. He'll be fine._ Artemis said, averting her gaze. Wally took a knife for her. When he was better, she wouldn't hear the end of it.

_What do you think that Deathstroke guy wants with a gene splicer?_ Barbara asked.

_I am not sure. Now that I think about it, he- or they are planning something. But we have been too preoccupied with getting Robin back that we have not even noticed._ Kaldur said.

_So we have to stop these guys while trying to help Robin too?_ Roy asked sourly.

_Guess we better start training._ Connor said, cracking his knuckles. He turned towards Black Canary, and gave her a challenging smile. She returned the grin, and the sparring began.

**In an unknown location**

Red X clenched and unclenched his hands as The Light made their judgment. He was breathing heavily, and sweating too, as he awaited his fate. Red X had been acting different ever since he returned to his base. He knew Deathstroke noticed; nothing got by his master. He could feel Deathstroke watching him, his eyes boring into Red X's frame, which was watching the monitors in anticipation. But he knew Red X wasn't focused on The Light; something happened during his mission. Deathstroke's eye narrowed. He would find out later.

"Red X." The young assassin blinked and looked up.

"You have proven yourself once again useful to us. The mission was a success, and we hope that you take your recent lessons into consideration for the future." Red X nodded.

"However," the voice continued, and Red X froze. "Our ways, as you well know, compel us to look at every detail of your mission. Your orders were clear, yet you did not follow them."

"I…I didn't?" Red X asked in a small voice.

"No, you did not. Tell me, Red X, what orders did Deathstroke give you?"

"Retrieve the gene splicer. Leave no survivors." Red X's voice fell at the last part. He told his masters all about the knock offs- who had survived. He hadn't followed orders.

"Precisely. You ran into some obstacles- obstacles that may cause you great trouble in the future. You have cast a burden upon yourself. Therefore, we expect you to rid yourself of the burden on your next mission. We, Red X, are not like others. We are pure, and we are dominant. Your opponents are inferior to our intellect, and the fact that they have escaped from you twice represents our weakness. One weak link, Red X, can lead to the fall of our great society. Do you wish to see us fall, boy? After everything we've accomplished so far?"

"No."

"Good. Deathstroke?"

The man was behind Red X in an instant. "We have another mission for you. Tell me what you are to do."

"Complete the mission. Plan ahead. Think logically. No survivors."

Deathstroke smiled. "Perfect."

**AN: I know it's short but it's been forever and I wanted to get something up but it's late and I'm really tired. So suck it.**

**!**


	10. Blockbuster

Please don't kill me, I've been busy! I have five friends with birthdays within two weeks, and I'm the party planner. But don't worry, I'm back and focused on writing the next chapter. It's getting intense, isn't it? I'm having a hard time writing it without feeling bad for hurting Robin so much…. And I'm over it.

One week from today! There are sneak peak clips on YouTube for Misplaced. (Your welcome).

Thanks to all who reviewed! I love reviews!

Chapter 10!

Conner plopped down on the couch in the Cave's den area. He felt as if he would never again be able to move his limbs without pain. They had trained and sparred for hours, using their powers and abilities to the best of them, giving everything they had- but would it be enough to take on Red X?

The team took exhausted positions on the chairs and floor around him. They looked as worn out and tired as he did. But no one was surprised; they needed to train, for the sake of Robin, and stopping whoever he was working for's evil plan. They shuddered at the thought of what those crazies could be planning. He was almost asleep when Black Canary entered.

"Very good job tonight, team. You've impressed The League with your hard work and determination. Keep it up." She got a slurred chorus of "Thanks" in response. Normally, Conner would've felt really proud of himself after getting a compliment like that from The League, but after everything that happened in the past six month, it didn't mean much to him anymore. He was sure his team felt the same way.

"You can all go home tonight- if anything else regarding Red X or his employers comes up, The League will handle it."

"And they will report back to us?" Kaldur seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Yes." Black Canary said with a nod. "Count on it. Now go get some rest."

She hadn't even finished the sentence when they all fell asleep.

**The Watchtower Monitor Room**

Batman went over the warehouse security footage over and over again. He wanted to etch every detail of the robbery into his mind so as to have everything under constant. He never knew when he would need this information.

Batman had been going over videos of Red X. There were actually many of them, but they were mostly blurry. He didn't doubt Red X had tried to hack them, but failed- he didn't know that the warehouse was connected with Wayne Industries, thus proving his memory had been tampered with. He watched Red X battle his friends in an uncaring, dangerous manner. He was precise and deadly, just like Deathstroke had seemed to Batman. He clenched his teeth at the thought of that mad man manipulating Robin into all these crimes. As long as Batman was around, this man will see the inside of a coffin before a jail cell. Batman quickly shook his head- no, the code prohibited that. Still, it was nice to think of what could be….

Batman watched closely at the part where Kid Flash got stabbed. He carefully took note of Red X's reaction to 'Wally' and what he did after. Batman sighed when Red X turned and ran away, whether out of confusion or fear or both.

"I can hear you staring." Batman said, rewinding the tape once more. Superman emerged from the shadows where he had been watching too.

"I thought I was the one with super hearing." He joked. Batman didn't even spare him a glance. Superman cleared his throat. "Right, well… I just got back from the infirmary. Kid Flash has been healing quite rapidly, and Flash said he should be fine in a few days."

Batman didn't respond right away. After some silence he said; "So go tell The Team. This information is more useful to them than me."

Superman shifted uncomfortably. "Right…." Batman rolled his eyes. _Really, Clark, just get over it!_

"What are you looking for?" Superman asked, peering at the tape.

"Just going over everything. I don't want to miss anything."

"So what the kids told us is true?" Superman raised an eyebrow and looked at his colleague. Batman turned toward him with a glare. "Did you think they were lying to us?"

"Well, who can be sure with teenagers? Especially these teenagers…." He trailed off when he saw Batman's expression. "You know what?" Superman said. "I'm going to go inform Red Tornado and Black Canary right now."

Batman turned back to the monitor without a word as Superman left, giving a small, yet relieved sigh.

**In an unknown location**

The door to Red X's Tower opened silently. If not for his acute senses, the assassin never would have heard it. He turned around to see Deathstroke standing there with his arms folded behind his back.

"Do you know what you are to do this time, child?"

"Yes, master."

"Good. We have been generous enough to give you three days to rest and plan. And to make up for the disappointingly small number of casualties on your last mission, I have gifted you with this." Deathstroke held up what looked to be a black pen with a red top to the untrained eye. But Red X knew what it really was; a detonator.

"Now, Red X, go over what you are to do."

"Break into S.T.A.R. Labs, steal more of the blockbuster formula, and bring it back. Think, plan, fight, no survivors."

"Yes. This time, however, The Justice League will see just how powerful The Light can really be. When you are done with S.T.A.R. Labs, you will blow it up, thus once again proving the superiority of us over them." He tossed the detonator to Red X, who caught it carefully.

"I trust you won't disappoint us, boy."

"Of course not, master. I'll do whatever you wish."

"Very good. Now get some rest." And Deathstroke left Red X alone in his room.

Red X stroked the side of the detonator softly and thoughtfully. "The Justice League…." He murmured to himself in awe.

**AN: Okay, it's short, but I want to save all I have next for one whole chapter, since I hate to keep people waiting. Once again, ONE WEEK UNTIL MISPLACED! FINALLY! Ahem, anyway…**

**REVIEW!**


	11. The Great Escape

OMG Misplaced was so awesome! Zatanna is my favorite super hero ever! I almost cried, I really did.

Anyway, Coldhearted is tomorrow and there are once again clips and pictures online. I check every Thursday for them on YouTube and stuff, and I have freakin' heart attacks they're so awesome! Sorry, I know no one reads the comments, so I'll get to the chapter.

Thanks to all who reviewed! You rock!

Chapter 11!

It had been days since Red X's employers sent him out on a mission. The Team knew that they were planning something big, and if they weren't stealing things, then that could mean they had everything they needed, and they were already putting their plans in motion.

But Aqualad wouldn't allow his team to think like that- if they were going to save their friend, then would have to remain positive that everything would turn out in their favor. They had spent the past few days skipping school and training with Black Canary, who would update them on anything Red X related and Wally's conditions. The Team worked themselves raw- they would train, eat, train, eat, train, and then sleep. They absolutely hated it, but they needed to get as good as they could possibly hope for. Or at least good enough to beat Red X. They had no idea how he came to be as good as he is now, and they had no wish to find out how he was trained. Things were bad enough as they were.

It was during a sparring match that The Cave received a call. Batman's face appeared on the screen. He looked as grim and cold as ever, but everyone knew that he was suffering under his cowl. Batman glared down at the teens.

"Security guards near S.T.A.R. Labs report seeing suspicious persons loitering around their property. Since they've been stealing from large corporations, it's safe to say that we've established their next target. You'll all start staking out the place at dusk. Batman out."

"Why dusk? Why not now?" Artemis asked.

"Because he's only been striking at night." Batgirl explained.

"That gives us more time to train." Superboy said, stretching his arms over his head.

"Poor Wally," Miss Martian said sadly. "He won't be able to come."

"Kid Flash needs time to heal. We must focus on our task at hand." Aqualad said stiffly. His team nodded in agreement.

"Prepare the bioship."

**In the Watchtower Medical Bay**

Wally waited until his uncle had left the room before opening his eyes. Ever since being brought to the Watchtower, he hadn't been left alone. People were always checking his monitors and refilling his IV or redoing his bandages or just coming to sit with him. Wally didn't bother asking about Robin or his team's missions; he wouldn't get a straight answer. Rule number one: don't stress out the sick. With a deep sigh, Wally tried to sit up but was met with great pain from his middle. He had been healing rapidly, but it wasn't fast enough for him. What he wanted more than anything was to get back out in the field with his friends and finish their mission. But there was no way in hell that anyone would let him back out now. He could barely sit up.

When he had managed it, Wally pulled the table at the foot of his bed forward. He was starving, but what else was new? Wally frowned at the contents of his plate. It was just pudding and yogurt and broth and other light stuff. He moaned and pushed the table away. How was his supposed to heal himself with stuff like this? It was as if The League was trying to make it so he couldn't heal himself- why did they want him out of commission so badly? Wally sighed and sat back with a wince. That was just his frustration talking and he knew it. He wasn't really angry at The League. He didn't know who he was angry at- everyone, no one, maybe himself. First thing's first, Wally needed to get himself back on the missions. And the only way to do that was to get some decent food.

He would have to be very careful. If he wanted to get to the cafeteria and back without being seen or missed, he would need all of his training. Let's see: Wally had to sneak through a highly guarded building in space full of the world's greatest and most trained superheroes while injured in order to get to the cafeteria which was in a location unknown to him. Wally grinned. Easy enough, right?

He slid out of his bed and carefully made his way over to the door, hunched over. His stab wound wasn't as bad as it had been when he came here, but it still wasn't healed. Wally would have to be careful. He opened the door and poked his head out. Empty. He slid out into the hall, and, staying close to the walls, edged his way to the left. When he reached another door, he poked his head through. A hallway, wide and brightly lit and best of all, deserted. Wally walked slowly through the hallway, keeping close to the wall and keeping his eye on nearby doors to run into if he heard anyone coming. Wally kept walking down the hallway until he came to another door, which he opened. This was a large, dome like hallway, almost like the main corridor. He was about to continue to look for the cafeteria until he heard a voice.

Wally's blood ran cold. He thought he had been caught when he found that the voice, wherever it was, hadn't moved. He recognized Batman's commanding baritone almost immediately.

Wally had completely forgotten about nourishment. He tiptoed his way over to where Batman's voice was coming from. He peeked into a large room, with large windows looking into space. The monitor room. Wally grinned like a child at Christmas. He strained to hear what the Bat was saying.

"-we've established their next target. You'll all start staking out the place at dusk. Batman out."

It didn't take a genius to determine who Batman was talking to. He was sending The Team on another mission. And Wally wouldn't be joining them. Anger boiled in Wally's veins once again- how many missions had his friends been on without him? Wally wasn't sure of how long he had been in the infirmary, but his own wellbeing didn't matter to him anymore. At this point, all he wanted to focus on was going on that mission, partially injured or not.

First, he had to figure out how to get out of the Watchtower.

He knew it wouldn't be easy- he didn't know anything about the Watchtower, only the medical bay. _Well it's a good thing I'm a genius,_ Wally thought. He snuck around the tower, going through doors and hallways, keeping a sharp ear out for anyone approaching.

After what seemed like forever to this ambitious teenager, Wally saw a flash of light at the end of a hallway.

_Wonder Woman, 0-3_

_Flash, 0-4_

Wally knew he had reached a zeta beam, possibly one that could take him back to The Cave. He heard his uncle and Diana's voices getting louder as they got closer to him. Wally hid inside the door closest to him and listened to their conversation.

"-a real shame. He was such a bright kid, and now look. It's awful how cruel men can be." Diana was saying.

"Yeah," Barry agreed. "I hope we get him back. Poor Wally's been worried sick. And what do you think Bat's gonna do with him? He's not gonna be the same."

"I don't know. Clark recommended a mental hospital, but Bruce won't go for it. But we'll worry about it when the time comes."

"Alright…. I should go check on Wally; I don't like leaving him alone."

Wally heard a familiar _whoosh_ from his hiding place, and knew that Flash had used his super speed to get to the infirmary. Any minute, he would realize that his nephew was gone, and the rest of the Watchtower would be alerted. Wally rushed into the zeta tube as fast as he possibly could, which wasn't very fast, considering his stab wound.

Wally waited for the computer to recognize him, and then set his coordinates for Mount Justice. The alarms started going off just as he was sent back down to Earth.

**AN: That was long, right? I like that chapter, because I like Wally- and Coldhearted will be about Wally! Yayay! I can't wait, be sure to tell me what you thought of that episode and if you like Misplaced too.**

**Oh, and don't forget to…**

…**REVIEW!**


	12. STAR Labs

AAHH! Beast Boy, finally! I loved Coldhearted and Image, but Agendas is so far the best! I love Superboy.

Almost at my favorite part… teehee.

Thanks to all who reviewed!

Chapter 12!

Red X stared at the building with a sign that said S.T.A.R. Labs in front. It seemed decent enough, a network of labs with various research and experiments. Red X chewed on his lip in worry. What if his masters needed something from this place again? What it really smart to blow the place up? Red X shook his head, clearing his mind. He had been acting strange ever since his last mission. He had been… defiant. He started thinking, wondering- one of the first things Deathstroke taught was to not think, just act. "Thinking is dangerous." He had said. These words echoed in the assassin's mind as he jumped from S.T.A.R. Labs' neighboring building and entered one of the thirteenth floor's windows. His gauntlet read that his destination was in the center of the building, so there would be some sneaking around. Red X was just glad he could relax on this mission; no matter what happened everyone would die anyway. He had already planted the bombs, so all he had to do was slip out and press the detonator. His hand automatically reached toward the small compartment in his newly repaired gauntlet that guarded the delicate remote.

Red X slipped inside the building; the room was dark, but he heard voices. He took cover behind the door, gripping his taser. Moments later, a man and woman, both in lab coats, walked in. They were tasered before they even turned around.

Red X snuck into the hallway. It seemed oddly quiet and deserted for a bustling lab. Using the coordinates on his gauntlet, Red X navigated his way through the halls and corridors. He twisted and turned, and slowly got closer and closer to his destination. Whenever he detected another presence, he would slip out a knife or a boomerang or his taser, but the victim would always remain alive- barely. He wanted to make good use of his bombs.

Finally, Red X reached the lab with the Blockbuster formula. He carefully opened the door, and peered inside. It was dark and quiet, not a soul in sight. Red X slipped into the lab just as someone turned on the light.

**The Cave**

_Kid Flash, B03_

The Computer announced Wally's arrival inside The Cave, which unfortunately for him, wasn't empty.

"Wally! What are you doing here?" Black Canary exclaimed. "You're supposed to be in the infirmary recovering!"

Wally was silent for a moment, as he was still woozy from the pain. He took in his surroundings, stood up straight, and said with a confident grin; "I am recovered! Why else would I be here? Not like I escaped from the Watchtower or anything, if that's what you're thinking, 'cause that so did not happen." Wally laughed nervously as Black Canary and Red Tornado exchanged glances.

"Is that so?" Black Canary did not sound convinced. "So your uncle let you come down here on your own right after you 'healed' without informing us?"

"That's about right." Wally smiled and put his hands on his hips. "So… where's m' team at?"

"The Team has been sent on a cov-opts mission at S.T.A.R. Labs. You, however, will remain here." Red Tornado responded in his sulky monotone.

"Yeah, yeah…S.T.A.R. Labs, huh?" Wally muttered. "Be right back!" He said under Canary's watchful gaze. He super sped to his room at the mountain, though not as fast as he usually would due to injuries and changed into Kid Flash at super speed. He ran back into the main hall just as Flash was telling Tornado and Canary about Wally's escape.

"Yes, he's here Flash, don't worry." Canary was saying. She turned around to face Kid Flash. "Recovered, huh?" She said disapprovingly.

"KID! Get your sorry butt back up here before I call your folks! Never mind, I'll come down and get you myself."

"Sorry, Uncle Barry, but I gotta help my best friend. You know where to find me!"

And with that, Kid Flash left Wally behind in The Cave and ran as fast as he could to S.T.A.R. Labs.

**In the Bioship**

"Almost there." Miss Martian reported.

"Already?" Zatanna asked.

"Boston isn't that far from Happy Harbor, especially when you fly there." Batgirl said.

"So what's the plan?" Red Arrow asked, turning to Aqualad. Everyone else turned to their leader as well.

"We stay outside, and stake out the place. When we see him, we do not engage. Alert everyone else, and then follow him until backup arrives. Understood?"

The Team nodded and turned away. They had no idea how to follow Red X without being detected, or what backup would do if it got there in time. Sure, they had all trained hard and long for days, but none of them thought they were truly ready to take on this threat. But it was still Robin, somewhere in all that darkness, and they would find him, even if it killed them.

They arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs just in time to see a dark, thin figure slip into the building from a side window. Fortunately, the bioship was in stealth mode, and he didn't know he was being watched. Just as the dark figure entered the building, a scarlet and canary colored blur entered through the front door in a very non-discreet manner.

"Uh, oh. Is that the idiot I think it is?" Artemis asked.

"What's Wally doing here?" Miss Martian said.

"Apparently trying to help." Aqualad said sourly.

"Stupid kid. He's gonna get himself killed." Red Arrow murmured.

"Move out." Aqualad ordered, and The Team filed out of the bioship and into the building.

_Wally? Can you hear me?_

_Loud and clear, beautiful._

_What do you think you're doing, Kid Idiot?_ Artemis asked angrily.

_I'm helping my team get my best friend back. Ah!_

_Kid? Kid Flash?_ Aqualad asked.

_Found him. _KF thought.

_You okay, Kid?_ Red Arrow asked.

_Yeah… he's heading into a lab….I'll trap him._

_Wait! Which lab?_ Batgirl asked.

_Fifth floor, room 514._

"On our way." Aqualad said out loud.

**Room 514**

"Gah!" Red X said, staggering back and covering his eyes with his arms. Even with his eyes covered, he was still sensitive to the light.

"Did I scare you?" KF asked teasingly, hands on his hips.

"But-how-?"

"Super speed, my incredibly messed up friend. And speed healing don't hurt either."

Red X scowled and took a long, sharp knife from his belt. "Then this time I'll make it so you won't heal."

**AN: I'm gonna leave all the fighting and drama for its** **own chapter. And I changed settings a lot, so you guys got a decent amount of the story for tonight. I'm sooo glad Conner hated Luthor too, I thought he'd be all like "omg a dad who likes me I'll pursue him instead of Superman"… sorry just had to say that. Completely off topic, who else saw the Hunger Games? It was awesome! Even my dad loved it.**

**REVIEW!**__


	13. The Explosion

I'm glad most of you liked the Hunger Games! Anyway, I can't wait for Performance; it's the episode I've been waiting for. I can tell it's going to be super awesome because it's about Robin! AH!

So, let's talk about the mole. Who do you think it is?

I was especially happy with the reviews I got for the last chapter. Thanks soooo much you guys! You're all so amazing!

Chapter 13!

Kid Flash took a few slow steps back. He put his hands in front of him in a gesture of peace as he backed away. "Whoa, man, take it easy. We don't have to fight."

Red X cocked his head in minor confusion. "I'm on a mission, and you are in my way. Therefore, it is only logical that I eliminate your presence so I can complete my operation."

"Come on, Rob, we're friends. We were all friends." Kid Flash said, although he knew talking wouldn't work. Robin wasn't going to listen- he had to get away from him, fast, or he knew that Robin would indeed injure him. It was a good thing that Kid Flash was all about fast.

Red X had paused at the word friends, and his eyebrows knit together. To Kid Flash, it seemed as if he didn't know what the word 'friend' meant. Nevertheless, he poked the point of his sword, a katana, Kid Flash recognized, into the hero's still healing stomach. KF winced and back up a little.

A twisted, unfamiliar smile crept onto Red X's face. _Weak point detected. Target acquired._

"I guess your speed healing isn't as effective as you would have liked."

Red X lunged at Kid Flash with the sharp sword, but the speedster ducked out of the way just in time. Red X continued to try and stab KF with his katana, to no avail. Kid Flash flitted around the room at super speed, picking up various beakers and test tubes which he tried to throw at Red X. The assassin was able to dodge the flying obstacles, which wasn't too much of a challenge; Kid Flash was having a hard time trying to land a blow on his friend. Finally, Red X got tired of Kid Flash's eluding him, and simply stuck out his leg. Kid tumbled to the floor.

"Ugh… I should have seen that coming. When don't people trip me?" Kid Flash moaned, rubbing his head. He felt his stomach grow warm, and he knew that he had ripped his stitches. His leg didn't feel too good either- one look and Kid Flash could tell that it was injured.

A shadow fell over Wally. He looked up into the tinted goggles of The Light's deadliest assassin, and felt fear wash over him. It was in that moment when Wally was faced with reality- Robin, his best friend in the world, was going to kill him, not because of his mission, but rather because he wanted to. Because somewhere in his twisted mind, he found killing enjoyable, and he like to do it. Kid Flash sat frozen on the ground, staring up at Red X in shock. Suddenly, Red X's katana flew out of his hands, and into a delicate green one. Kid Flash sighed in relief- he had completely forgotten that his team had been on the way up.

Miss Martian handed the katana to Superboy, who snapped it in half, then tossed it aside. Arrows, batarangs, water bearers and a wand were aimed at Red X, whose hands had instinctively gone to his utility belt. Before Aqualad could tell Red X not to move a muscle, small knives had been thrown in their direction. The Team ducked out of the way, and Red X made for the door.

Suddenly, he remembered the blockbuster formula. His masters needed it for their ultimate plans. Red X ran back to the table and immediately saw a corked tube labeled 'blockbuster'. Red X slipped it into his belt and turned just in time to dodge a punch from Superboy.

_Conner, don't hurt him!_ Miss Martian cried. Superboy turned toward his girlfriend, and in moment he knew it was a mistake. He felt the top of a taser touch his back, and before he could get away, Red X stunned him. With a cry of shock, Superboy fell to the ground.

"Etativel resat ot em!" Zatanna cried, and soon Red X's taser was in her hand. Artemis shot an arrow at him, but Red X jumped up just as it turned into a net. He flipped to the door, avoiding more arrows and batarangs. He was just about to leave when Kid Flash, who was still on the ground, grabbed his leg.

"What the- let go!" Red X cried, trying to tug free.

"I don't think so, Robin." KF responded.

"Wally! Let go of him, you'll get hurt!" Miss Martian said. Wally smiled when he felt Red X tense up at the sound of his name. It had only lasted for a moment, however; Red X kicked Kid Flash in the side, which forced the still injured speedster to release him. Red X bolted out the door and down the hall and around a corner as fast as he could. He was fast and he knew it; by the time any of the heroes bothered to look out the door, he would be out of sight.

_Come on, Rob, we're friends._

Red X slowed down a little, and then shook Wally's calm voice out of his head. He didn't need them messing with his mind. No one screwed with his thoughts, no one….

_We were all friends._

Red X had a death grip on the detonator. All he needed to do now was get out of the building and then set off the bombs. By his calculations, the heroes would be more concerned with their friend, and stay in the lab with him rather than chase Red X. Besides, Red X knew that they knew they could not catch him. The assassin had a penchant for disappearing into the shadows.

Red X kept running. When he came to stairs, he ran straight up, heading for the roof. But no matter how far away he ran, Wally's words echoed in every corner of his mind.

_Come on, Rob, we're friends._

_We were all friends._

_Robin…._

Red X felt a blast of cool wind as he hurried onto the roof, and finally slowed down, panting. The assassin fell to his knees, and the detonator rolled out of his hand onto the hard, grimy floor. Red X sat like that for a little while, catching his breath and clearing his head. When the voices stopped, he stood up and took the detonator off the ground. He made sure he had the blockbuster formula with him, then slowly walked to the edge of the roof, and jumped onto the neighboring building. The edifice two doors down from S.T.A.R. Labs was taller than all the other ones around it, granting him the perfect view from a safe distance away. Red X jumped over to that building, and then turned back to the lab, squeezing the detonator, his thumb poised over the red button. He waited.

**Young Justice**

"Are you all right, Kid Flash?" Red Arrow asked as he helped Wally up.

"Ugh…yeah, I'm fine." Wally was pulled to his feet by Red Arrow. "Ow! Okay, no I'm not."

"How did you get here from The Watchtower? Isn't it in space?" Artemis asked with disapproval laced in her voice.

"I snuck out." Wally said in a too proud voice. "You guys didn't think I'd let you have all the fun, did you?"

"That was very reckless, Kid Flash." Aqualad scolded. There was a deep scowl on his face. "You are not in any position to fight with your-"

"Oh, spare me the lecture! I couldn't stand by and do nothing while you all took Robin on alone! You need my help."

"That does not matter. You could have-"

"Let Batman yell at him later, Aqualad, we should get out of here." Batgirl said, glancing around cautiously. She had just gotten the sense that something bad was going to happen soon.

"Are we going to go after him?" Superboy asked, rubbing his back. Being Kryptonian, the taser's effects didn't last very long on him.

"No, let him go. We will have another opportunity to catch Robin."

Superboy and Miss Martian helped Kid Flash up, and guided him to the door. Red Arrow went up to Aqualad and whispered: "Someday, he's going to finish up their shopping list, and it'll be too late to go after him."

"I am aware of that. But I know that we will see him again. And I am sure we will finally be able to incarcerate our friend." There was a hint of sadness in Aqualad's voice as he said this; yes his facial features gave nothing away.

The police were already at the lab by the time The Team got to the lobby. They immediately noticed the group of young heroes, and eyed them suspiciously.

"The League is going to kill us. This was such a fail." Zatanna murmured.

"We let him get away again!" Batgirl said, with extreme irritation in her voice. "This is beginning to become like a cycle."

"Cheer up! I'm sure things will start to go our way soon." Miss Martian said cheerily.

No sooner had she spoke when there was a flash of light accompanied by a loud _**BOOM!**_

The Team was thrown forward, and the police and civilian passersby's ducked for cover. Aqualad pulled himself up and turned to look at what was once S.T.A.R. Labs. It was now a burning pile of rubble blowing black smoke into a matching night sky. Aqualad turned to look at his team. They were all on the ground, trying to pick themselves up as well. Aqualad got to his feet, ignoring an oncoming headache and the ringing in his ears. He could only imagine the fate of all those people inside the lab.

Zatanna had been right. This mission was a failure.

**Red X**

Red X watched the explosion throw the heroes forward, and grinned sadistically when the police cowered behind their cars. As the building went up into flames, he turned and started to flip away from the scene, completely missing the large, dark, cowled figure many rooftops away, watching him.

Batman turned back to the burning building. He knew about the bombs, and had secretly evacuated the lab, unbeknown to The Team. But that wasn't what was on his mind right now. Instead, he was thinking about Red X, and what he had done.

He was sure that only he had noticed what Red X had done, what he had _truly_ done, and would be sure to use it against him and his 'masters' in the near future.

Batman smiled.

**AN: Ugh, it's so late, but I stayed up to finish it for you guys anyway. This last part might be confusing, but just to summarize, Red X did something that only Batman, being Batman, could notice. I don't want to tell you guys what it is until later though, because I've had that part planned since I started writing this.**

**REVIEW!**


	14. EMP

Let me start off by saying that I knew Red Arrow was the mole because I'm awesome. But yeah, I can't wait for the season finale, than the next season starts right after! Yay!

I loved Usual Suspects, by the way. Rocket seems pretty cool.

Thanks so so so so much for all the reviews! They make my day.

Chapter 14!

Red X waited in heavy anticipation as his masters evaluated his mission. Last time he thought he had done well, he had ended up being punished for not killing enough. Even though he blew up a building, which qualified as a reasonable quantity, he was still frightened to hear of how he had done.

"Red X."

The assassin stepped forward. "Yes?"

"You've done well. We are pleased with your results." Red X could practically sense Deathstroke's wicked grin from behind him as Vandal Savage praised Red X's job well done. But the assassin knew that was virtually impossible.

"We have one more mission for you." Lex Luthor said. "If you complete it, then we will be able to put our ultimate plan into action."

Red X forced a rubbery smile onto his face. He was glad it was almost over for many reasons; first of all, he was tired, and wanted to actually spend one night asleep. That was what nighttime was for, after all. Second, he was just plain tired of running into the knockoffs. They made him feel uncomfortable, confused, and overall strangely nostalgic. And the worst part was that he didn't even know why. He remembered Deathstroke once telling him: "Emotional distance is the key to a successful crime." Red X liked being emotionally cold and logical. It was a good way to see life. And the knockoffs kept on screwing that up.

"Your mission," Ra's al Ghul said, "is to break into Wayne Tech. once again and retrieve us an EMP generator."

Red X felt his cold heart sink into his stomach. Wayne Tech… again? But wouldn't the enemies see it coming? And not to mention the last time he was there- it was disastrous! Heavy on the dis….

Red X blinked at the grammatical improbability, then said in a small voice, "But… that may seem kind of… repetitive… will they be expecting it?"

"What does that matter? You should be able to take them on by now. You know what we expect of you." The Brain snapped.

Red X flinched. "Of course." He really needed to stop talking back to his superiors. Deathstroke noticed this as well.

"Come, Red X," he said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "We have some more training to do."

**Mount Justice**

"Completely irresponsible!" The Flash said, throwing his hands up in the air. He had been pacing in front of Wally's bed at The Cave for ten minutes, ranting on and on about how his nephew clearly made poor decisions regarding his health.

"I mean, you _know_ you're still recovering, you _know_ that you're up against an assassin, and you _know_ that there is a _hole_ in your _torso_- and _still_ you think it's okay to leave. Well, I have news for you, buddy, you are _not_ leaving this room until _I say so_!"

Wally was lying in his bed, weakly listening to his uncle scold him, but nevertheless let his mind wander. When the Team got back to base, they had to explain to The League what had happened. Batman had informed them that the labs had been swiftly evacuated, which did much to ease their gloomy moods, but that didn't make them any less upset about losing to Red X again. Red Arrow had a point- someday he would collect everything he needed and they would be out of opportunities.

Wally recalled what Batman had told the team; "The next time Robin makes a move will be his last; we need him captured. This is one mission you can't afford to fail."

He had sent The Team home after that short, motivational speech. He said that they had trained enough lately, and deserved some rest. Wally, however, who had ripped his stitches, was forced to stay at The Cave since they decided he wasn't in any condition to be moved. After he had gotten his stomach wound re-stitched, Flash had taken the priority to scold his nephew for his foolishness, and ban Wally to his bed as long as the law would allow him to.

Luckily, Wally had passed out from exhaustion a little while after, and fell into a deep, needed sleep.

**In The Batcave**

Batman typed furiously at his oversized computer. Behind him, Alfred sighed; he knew the detective had no intention of turning in for the night until he found what he needed. Batman had gone too many sleepless nights with almost no luck. Now, as he went through video footage, trying to find the masked man whom he knew appeared by the place that Dick would rob next, the butler knew he wouldn't stop for the apocalypse.

"You can turn in for the night, Alfred." Bruce said without looking up.

"That is quite alright, Master Bruce, I'll gladly stay up with you." Alfred responded.

"That isn't necessary, Alfred. These last few weeks have been long, you need rest."

"I could easily say the same to you, sir."

There was a moment of silence as Bruce let this sink in, but continued working on hacking video cameras and security tapes.

"I won't rest until Dick is back with us and his captors are brought to justice." Bruce said stiffly, for what felt like the hundredth time to the butler. It probably was.

"Master Bruce…." Bruce knew what Alfred was going to ask before he said it.

"Have you figured out what you are going to do with Master Dick when he returns home?"

There was another pause. Of course he had thought about it… it was just that Bruce hadn't really decided on anything yet. Counseling, of course, was going to be involved, and lots of it. But how Bruce would untrain Dick of all the deadly new moves and abilities he had gained was beyond him. And what about the memories he had of being tortured and abused by those psychos? And what of all the things they had said to him, the untruths they had forced him to believe? Bruce sighed and pinched the top of his nose. One step at a time.

"I don't know, Alfred, I just don't know."

Bruce looked back up at the screen and gave a start when he saw the strange masked man in the corner of a security camera's view. He looked to see where the video was from, and saw that it was right by…

…Wayne Tech.

They were going to have him rob Wayne Tech. again. Didn't they consider that The League might expect this? No, they would have no consideration for their young assassin. Whether he lived or died didn't matter to them as long as they got what they wanted.

Bruce scowled into the screen, glaring at the masked man. He was… conspicuous. He wanted to be seen. He was challenging them. Well, Batman, leader of The Justice League of America, would take that challenge. This would be the very last place that his protégé would rob. No one dare messes that close with someone as powerful as Batman.

It was time for him to make his move.

It was time for The League to make their move.

It was time for the enemy to see just who they were dealing with.

**AN: boo! Spring break is almost over! Ready for the season finale?**

**So, next chapter is the one you've been waiting for; are you ready?**

**REVIEW!**


	15. Prelude

So Auld Acquaintance is my new favorite episode. I was screaming the entire time! I'm soooo sure I wasn't the only one. I almost cried with all of these huge changes. In Alienated, I am soooo happy that Clark and Conner are new BFFs, but I am also so upset with Aqualad that it's not even funny.

Be sure to tell me what you think of all the changes.

Anyway, I'm really sorry for not updating, I've been working on a research paper, and it is agonizing. I'm really glad to be back, though.

Thank you for all the super awesome reviews! I'll stop boring you now.

Chapter 15!

"Team, a new mission regarding Red X has come up." Batman's emotionless voice came through the video comm., interrupting the team's training session. They still never got used to Batman regarding his protégé as 'Red X' like it was so normal, like he had never once been Robin.

"You are to be at Wayne Tech. by tonight. _Discreetly_ guard all entrances and exits. Use force only when necessary. No unnecessary risks. He is not to escape this time, understood?"

The Team nodded in comprehension. They were just as desperate and determined as everyone else to get their friend back and stop his masters' evil plan, whatever it was.

"Do you have any idea what it is he is after this time?" Aqualad asked calmly.

"Yes." Batman responded, and ended the call.

"So," Artemis said after a short, strained silence. "I guess we're leaving Baywatch here this time."

"Yep," Red Arrow responded. "So we're going without him, and he'll have to deal with it." They waited until Black Canary and Red Tornado were out of earshot before plotting how to help Wally escape.

"So," Aqualad said. "Are we sure we want to do this? Wally is still not fit to be in the field."

"He won't want to miss it. Trust me." Artemis said, rolling her eyes the way she does when she talks about Wally.

"Alright, here's the plan." Batgirl said.

**Mount Justice (later)**

M'gann's scream could be heard all throughout The Cave. She backed away from the fire that had suddenly started in the oven. Flash, who had been guarding Wally's room (they had been suspicious), was in the kitchen almost immediately.

"What? What happened?" He asked. M'gann pointed toward the fire and backed away. She felt all of her strength slowly leaving her. Flash grabbed the fire hydrant off the wall and started fanning at the flames. M'gann looked toward the door, worry flooding through her. It disappeared when Red Tornado and Black Canary hurried into the room.

"M'gann, are you all right?" Canary asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine." The Martian responded. She was filled with relief that Tornado and Canary had gone to check on her instead of Wally. They would have run into the rest of the team.

Red Tornado used his aerokinesis to help fan the flames as Flash put out the fire. M'gann glanced down the hall. Red Arrow walked out soundlessly, cautiously looking around.

_Clear._ Miss Martian thought. He nodded, and turned toward the way he came, making a beckoning motion. Behind him, Superboy, Wolf, and Artemis helped drag Wally down the hallway. Zatanna came after them, and gave M'gann a nod. Soon, they were out of sight, and on their way to the hangar where Aqualad would be waiting for them. Batgirl would meet them all there after once again disarming the security system.

"There we go," Flash said, slapping his hands together after a job well done. "All gone. Though you might want to get a new oven."

"Thanks so much, Flash!" M'gann said a little too enthusiastically. The three senior heroes looked at her. "Well, I should be going now." And with that, she hurried over to the bioship where her friends were waiting.

**Wally's Room, same time as above**

"Baywatch."

"Uhh."

"Baywatch!"

"Five more minutes…."

"Get up!" Wally felt someone's hand gently hit the side of his face- though not as gently as he would have preferred.

"WH-" Before Wally could finish, a hand went over his mouth. He was still a bit groggy, but he could make out figures in his room. He blinked a few times, a saw Artemis standing over him with her hand covering his mouth.

"We know where Robin is going to be next." She quickly explained in a whisper. "We're sneaking you out." He nodded in comprehension.

"Can you stand?" He sat up and flinched. He recomposed himself, and sat up a bit more, groaning.

"Here," Zatanna said, pushing her way over. She placed her hand on his torso. "Laeh sih sdnuow!" Instantly, Wally felt the pain in his stomach disappear as Zatanna's spell healed him. "There." She said.

"Why didn't you do that before?" Red Arrow asked.

"I didn't think I'd get it right." She responded sheepishly.

"I'll be mad later." Wally whispered. "Let's go."

He was still sore, so Artemis and Superboy got on either side and helped him stand. Wolf stood behind them just in case. Red Arrow slowly tip-toed out into the corridor and glanced toward the kitchen. Wally could hear some yelling and smell smoke. Red Arrow looked around and then back at his friends. He gave them the sign that it was okay to keep moving, and they snuck down the hall into the hangar. Wally saw Aqualad waiting by the bioship. He raised an eyebrow, and Red Arrow said, "We're clear."

"Good," Aqualad said with a nod. "Batgirl is on her way. What of Miss Martian?"

"I gave her the okay." Zatanna said.

"Then let us board the ship so we can wait for her." Aqualad said.

"I'm here!" Batgirl said, hurrying in. "We should hurry. The Big Ol' Bat'll find out I messed with his security system in a few minutes."

"Hurry! Onto the ship!" Miss Martian said, flying into the room at impressive speed. They did what she said and soon saw the reason for her haste; or heard it, which was more accurate.

"THAT KID IS BEYOND GROUNDED!"

"Fly the ship! NOW!" Kid Flash said desperately.

Minutes later, Red Tornado, Black Canary and The Flash watched the bioship disappear into the setting sun.

"They are _all_ beyond grounded." Black Canary said sternly.

**In The Batcave**

"The Team is ready to depart." Aqualad said into the screen. He was speaking with Batman, who was in The Batcave working (what else is new?), about the mission.

"Good." Batman said. "You remember the objective?"

"Yes."

"And you know that Kid Flash is to stay behind?"

Batman saw Aqualad stiffen slightly. Anyone else would have missed it. "Of course." Batman squinted at him, but nevertheless told him to "get moving." And with that, the video call ended.

Batman stared at the blank screen for a moment. Then, he brought up The Cave's security's system just as the hacker alarm went off.

_Batgirl._

Batman tried to pull up security footage from the camera outside Wally's room, but all he got was static. He checked the hanger, but got the same results- nothing.

There was no doubt in his mind when he suspected them of kidnapping Wally. He sighed and stood up, ready to depart for the emergency meeting he had just called for the whole League to meet in The Watchtower when his comm. Link when off. Batman put his finger on the button.

"Let me guess," Batman said before Flash could start. "They got past you. Again."

"How did you know? Never mind, you're Batman." Flash responded quickly. Bruce rolled his eyes. He never got tired of the 'because I'm Batman' excuse. "Should I go after them?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"But-"

"I called an emergency meeting. I expect to see you there." Batman said in a hard voice.

"Bats, come on-"

"I'll see you there, Allen. And don't worry about the kids."

"But-"

"Batman out."

**AN: Once again, I'm so sorry for not updating. NEXT chapter is the one you've been waiting for. Maybe. I might stretch things out a bit.**

**Anyway, Wally will be in the next episode! I'm still pissed at Aqualad.**

**REVIEW! **


	16. Agendas

Wally and Artemis are living together! Roy and Jade I'm not surprised about, the show is going by the comics. I don't really like M'gann's personality right now, though. She's all serious now; I liked her better as a sweet, peppy girl. Who else loves Bart? My new fave episode.

I'm still incredibly ticked off at Aqualad.

Thanks for all the great reviews!

Chapter 16!

Batman made sure everyone was in the Watchtower meeting room before starting. He glanced around at the curious yet professional faces of his teammates, and especially noticed The Flash's irritated expression. Batman knew, however, that he wouldn't be wearing it for long.

When everyone was quiet and seated, Batman activated the holographic computer screen at the head of the table. He brought up the picture of the man, Deathstroke, staking out S.T.A.R. Labs. Then, he brought up other pictures of him staking out Wayne Tech. and the warehouse.

"This," Batman began, "is Deathstroke. In other words, our objective." He brought up the empty file he found of the masked villain. "There is nothing on him on any of the computers. It's as if someone deleted him from existence."

"Or a group of someones." Aquaman said.

"Our hacker?" Asked Wonder Woman, recalling the time the Cave was hacked.

"Possibly." Batman continued. "He is closely allied with whoever Robin is currently working for. I assume he is the one who has been training him in the past months. He is as intelligent as he is an expert at martial arts, and not to be directly engaged."

"He was the masked one who was calling Robin 'Red X' six months ago when we were captured." Superman recalled.

"Yes." Batman flatly clarified.

"If he's so smart, then why is he in direct view of all these cameras?" The Flash asked.

"He wants to be seen." Black Canary frowned. "Is he challenging us?"

"That was my guess as well." Batman said. "This Deathstroke wants us to know which places they are having Robin infiltrate next. He wants us to have The Team fight him."

"How come?" Green Arrow asked.

"To show us how powerful and skilled they are in their area." Martian Manhunter said in a grave tone. "I believe it is also supposed to act as some sort of warning." He said.

Batman nodded, slightly glad that his team was starting to understand Deathstroke's agenda.

"Warn us against what?" Superman asked.

"They're planning something." John Stewart said.

"Planning what?" Captain Atom asked. All heads turned to Batman.

"Something big," the Bat stated. "Something that involves a gene splicer, the blockbuster formula, and, I'm guessing, the new EMP generator that just arrived in Wayne Tech. for the scientist's experimental usage." Only minutes before the meeting started had he realized that's what they were probably after. Batman had already informed Aqualad via comm. link.

"That sounds bad." Captain Marvel said quietly. Others nodded in agreement.

"So what do we do about it?" Wonder Woman said forcefully.

"Whatever they're planning, we won't let them go through with it." Batman said. "Soon, they are going to have everything they need to get their plan in action, if they haven't already. We don't know how many more things Red X will steal from them, or how many more chances we will have at catching him. But this ends tonight. Tonight, we will take action. We need to come up with a way to stop their plan, and the first step to doing that is to capture their delivery boy. They challenged us, and we will accept that challenge. We need to show them just who they are dealing with. Tonight, we make our move."

There was a moment of silence. Finally, Superman spoke.

"What did you have in mind?"

**In The Bioship**

"Approaching Wayne Tech." Miss Martian said. Everyone on the bioship tensed as they neared their destination. They had taken on Red X before, but only now did it seem like this confrontation really mattered. This time, they were to capture and bring him in. This was the one mission they could not afford to fail. Miss Martian had the bioship hover a few feet above the roof of the building in stealth mode as Aqualad gave the orders.

"Superboy and Red Arrow, take the labs. Artemis and Batgirl, the technologic area. Zatanna, the lobby. Kid and Miss Martian, guard the exits."

"Which ones?" Kid Flash asked.

"Kid, the ground floor ones- the main entrance and side doors. Miss Martian, the roof and emergency exits."

"Got it." Miss Martian said.

"What about you?" Superboy asked.

"I will be nearby." Aqualad responded after a short pause. He recalled getting a call from Batman about suspicions over the EMP being Red X's next- and hopefully last- target.

"Move out."

Aqualad watched as The Team dispersed, then made his way down the stairs and onto the top floor. He saw a sign on the wall that read:

**Chemistry Labs **

**Biomechanics **

**Nuclear/ Electromagnetic Radiation Testing ^**

Aqualad kept walking straight.

**Red X**

Although he was still a bit sore from the extra training Deathstroke had put into him last minute, Red X considered it an honor to go through with this mission anyhow. He watched Wayne Tech. intensely, a bolt of nervousness flashing through his spine every few seconds. His gut told him that were near and ready, and although he had absolutely no reason to be afraid in the least, he was nevertheless apprehensive. Blowing up S.T.A.R. Labs was a serious exploit, and when he had looked at the dark skinned one's expression, he knew that they knew he meant business. Things would be considerably different from now on.

So Red X knew that he would have to get them before they got him.

One by one.

**Aqualad P.O.V.**

He had already told the scientists in the EMP testing room to evacuate, and he was glad that they hadn't asked him why; some people just knew that it was common knowledge to do what a superhero told you, because something chaotic was probably going to happen, and they didn't want innocent bystanders around.

Aqualad stood reading in the testing room, the EMP behind him. He had his water bearers out, and was waiting stoically for Red X to slither in. After a while, Aqualad got a strange feeling that something was wrong. He pressed his finger to his comm. link.

"Red Arrow, report."

Nothing.

"Red Arrow, Superboy, is everything clear?"

There was no response.

"Zatanna? Batgirl? Artemis? Kid Flash? Miss Martian?"

When he called for Miss Martian, he was met with static. He assumed that something went wrong, and wondered why he was the only one who hadn't noticed. Then it hit him: He was in an EMP testing room- the walls were probably incredibly dense and soundproof.

_Miss Martian, report._

All he heard was her scream in his head.

Aqualad burst out of the testing room and rushed down to the lobby. He was almost there when the alarms started going off, and the building was evacuated.

Aqualad hurried to search for his unresponsive team. Nothing else mattered at this point. Not the fleeing scientists, not the EMP, and not Red X. All Kaldur was thinking about was his team.

He barely even noticed the blaring of the sirens and the static in his ear as he ran.

**AN: Uh oh, whatever could have happened to The Team? Could it be Red X? LOL, I sound like a 60's TV show announcer. Anyway, next chapter is the moment of truth! Well, one of them. The first of, like, three. Maybe four. Off topic, I can't wait for Artemis to rejoin! I wonder if she has a new costume….**

**IMPORTANT: Anyway, if you guys have any questions so far, I will be happy to answer them (I love to answer questions)…. Who said that?**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	17. One By One

I KNEW IT! I totally knew that Aqualad wasn't a trader! I was so happy I almost gave my television a hug! But I didn't, because, well, that would have been weird.

Anyway, we are getting closer to the part that I have been dying to write this whole time! Seriously, you guys have no idea how much it means to me. And you will (**IMPORTANT) **find out what Red X did that Batman saw (remember?)

Wish me luck on finals! Oh, and boo! to no more episodes in the summer.

Thank you for all the great reviews!

Chapter 17!

The front door- Red X hadn't slipped in through the roof, or slithered in a side window- he just strolled through the front door. Or, at least, he attempted to.

If the strange green girl hadn't tried to stop him, then he might have gone easier on her. But when she spotted him jump down in front of the sliding doors, she had made the mistake of trying to stop him.

"Stop!" She cried. Red X watched as she put her hands to her head and her eyes started to glow. A strange sensation came over him, and it felt as if someone was prodding around inside his brain.

"Ahhhh!" The green girl clutched her head in agony. Red X chuckled darkly.

"Scary in there, huh?" and then he tasered her in the stomach, enjoying every scream that came from her lungs. In moments, the green girl fell to the ground.

There was no time to waste. Clearly, the girl was a telepath, and she might have had the sense to warn her companions of the assassin's arrival.

Red X flitted through the front door at a quick speed he was proud of until a large, rugged looking boy jumped in front of him.

"I don't think so." He said in a challenging tone. Red X reached down to his belt until another voice made him stop.

"Try it." It was low and cool. Red X turned slightly to see the male archer aiming an arrow at him. He wasn't intimidated in the least.

Red X sent a small black ball hurling at the moody looking boy. It exploded into cement and glued him to a wall. Red X dodged arrows, and started flipping closer to the archer. When he was close enough, he managed a blow on his head, rendering the archer unconscious. Red X turned to leave when a smooth, melodic voice said: "tekcajthgiarts!"

A straight jacket enveloped itself around Red X, who fell to the ground. A girl in a magician's outfit stepped over to him. "Nice try, pal."

Red X used one of his sharp daggers to cut himself free as the magician held her finger to her ear and said; "Artemis, Kid Flash, Batgirl, Aqua- hello?"

The magician couldn't understand why her comm. link wasn't working until she turned back toward Red X and saw that he was standing directly behind her. She gasped, and took a step back. He held up a small remote. "It blocks radio frequencies." He explained, and then kneed her in the stomach. The magician fell over and laid on the floor, gasping for air.

Red X smiled and turned around to a loud crunching noise. The large boy had broken out of the cement shell. It didn't take the genius that Red X was to see that the boy had super strength, so he made his way to the stairs and hurried up them three at a time.

_Just grab the EMP and then get out of here._ He told himself calmly. Suddenly, something whizzed by his head and stuck to the wall behind him. Even though he had jammed the radios, the green girl had apparently found a brief moment to warn her teammates. The green girl archer and the girl with the red hair and bat symbol were at the top of the stairs with weapons aimed at him. Red X got into a fighting position, and then leapt forward. An arrow sailed toward his chest, but it shot out a net just as he was about to dodge it. The red haired girl sent gas pellets toward him, but Red X had already shaken the net of and dodged those as well. He sent daggers toward the two girls, and when they ducked, he sent his own smoke pellets in their direction. They started coughing, and then they collapsed.

Red X hurried up the stairs and through the door to the top story. By then he was out of breath and exhausted, and just wanted to get his mission over with. Red X ran around the corner, following the signs toward the EMP testing room, and then came to an abrupt halt. The large boy and red haired boy were waiting for him there.

"But- how-?"

"Elevator." The red haired boy said flatly. Red X sighed. Cheaters.

"Surrender while you have the chance, man." Wally said. "You can't take us both."

"Wanna bet?" Re X challenged. The other boy cracked his knuckles.

"I don't want to hurt you, Robin, but I will if I have to."

Red X got into a fighting position, as did the other two. The large boy might have been indestructible, but he knew the red head wasn't. Suddenly, Red X recalled a previous observation.

"I took out the green girl first." He said in a quiet, taunting voice. The boy's eyes flashed.

"She was… _easy._ Weak. I did enjoy hearing her scream, though."

With a loud, raging war cry, the boy leapt at Red X, who leapt out of the way and sent a knife sailing at the red head, who dodged it just in time, but fell to the floor with a moan.

The boy took a brief second to turn and check on his friend, but a second was all Red X needed. These people should know not to turn their backs on him-ever.

The large boy's strangled screams from the taser were just as pleasing as the green girl's.

When he fell to the ground, Red X looked at the other boy, who let out a strange squeak. Red X raised an eyebrow, not amused.

Usually, Red X would take advantage of Wally's weakness and have him beg for mercy. But Red X was tired and desperately wanted to finish the mission and go home. He slowly lifted up the taser and aimed toward Wally, who backed away.

"One by one." Red X whispered, and pressed the trigger.

When Wally was on the ground, Red X continued toward the EMP testing room at a slower pace than he was used to. That's when the building's security alarms started going off. Great. He suspected that one of the heroes had woken up and set off the alarm.

Red X was forced to run faster, then rammed into someone. He stumbled back, and came face to face with the tattooed leader. His hard expression and determined eyes told the assassin that this hero was all business. He could spare a fight.

"Finally, a worthy opponent." Red X said, spinning some daggers in his fingers. He beckoned Aqualad with one. In response, he turned his water bearers into swords.

"I do not wish to fight you, my friend. But you leave me no choice, as you will not listen to reason."

"All I listen to is reason. It's the only thing that makes sense." Red X hurled a blade at Aqualad with deadly accuracy, but Aqualad used his water swords to swat it away. Red X frowned, and Aqualad beckoned him with his swords. Red X threw more daggers and sharp discs at Aqualad, but he swatted them away. Red X scowled, and did a handspring toward Aqualad, hoping to strike him, but was blown back by a wave of water, and ended up a few feet down the hall. Red X pulled himself up. He was no longer interested in games, but he did not let the fearless leader see his distress. Instead, Red X gave a short, hysterical laugh.

"Is that all you've got? Water won't stop me, fish face!" Red X cried his words ditzy and slurred. Aqualad sighed in pity, and put his hands on the wet floor.

"This may."

Red X screamed as waves of electricity hit him. He fell to the ground, twitching slightly. He could take being shocked, but the leader had shocked him with everything he had. Red X moaned as Aqualad came and stood over him as he tried to get up.

"Just stay down. This fight is over. You are done, old friend."

Red X staggered on his feet. "Not…yet." But there was nothing he could do. He was tired, drained, injured, and beaten. And worse, he didn't have the EMP. Red X had no other choice; he had to flee. There was no way he could complete his mission in this condition. Surely his masters would understand….

Red X backed up slowly, expecting Aqualad to strike at him, to kill him. But the leader just watched him with pity in his eyes and a slightly bowed head. Red X knew why he didn't come after him; he didn't need to. Wayne Tech. was currently full of enemies; one would catch him. No- Red X could not let that happen. The wannabies would not catch him, alive or dead.

Red X hurried away; toward the stairs up to the roof- he was not followed. No footsteps or enraged voices followed him to his freedom. Red X let out a cackle- he was home free.

Or so he thought.

Sixteen. He counted sixteen adult, strong, clearly powerful heroes waiting for him there, surrounding the door to the roof. Right in front of Red X was a large cloaked man in a black cowl who immediately gave off an aura of importance and fear. Red X stood stunned- these heroes looked similar to the young one he had been fighting. Now he knew who the wannabies were supposed to be like.

Red X slowly backed toward the door, and he turned to make an escape when the tattooed leader emerged with his team, which looked tired but determined. That turned to surprise when they saw their superiors, who they clearly weren't expecting. Red X determined that they had been used by their mentors to trap him without them knowing it.

Red X turned back toward the heroes, who had their gazes set on him. He touched one hand to his belt, which suddenly flew off of his waist along with his gauntlet and into the hands a green man who had suddenly appeared behind the cloaked man. Red X finally had to face the truth: he was surrounded.

The assassin sighed and held up his hands in surrender.

"Hello, Robin." The cloaked man said in a low, gravelly voice. The green man's eyes started to glow, and everything went dark.

**AN: Whew, it's about time he got captured, right? And how will the team react to being used? Will Red X answer questions in interrogation?**

_**IMPORTANT:**_ **So the next chapter will be important to the story, and it is personally important to me. I've been waiting to write it forever, and I can't wait to share it with you all! Please let me know you've read this note in your reviews.**

**SO REVIEW!**


	18. Pain in the Heart

_**VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!**_

**Okay, guys, time to get serious. This is the part I have been planning for six months because it is that important to me.**

**First off, I would like to dedicate this chapter to ****Student of the Arts.**

**Second, this chapter is heavily based off of a scene from the **_**Bones**_** episode **_**Pain in the Heart, **_**which I do not own**_**.**_** This scene has touched me greatly, as I know it forwards and backwards, and I admit without shame that I play it over and over in my head in my free time. I'm really happy and excited that I can finally share it with all of you. I've worked the scene to fit my story, but it has the same basic concept. I really hope you come to love it as much as I do.**

**Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews!**

**And now, what we've all been waiting for,**

**Chapter 18!**

The Team was not happy. They thought they had been pretty clear to The League that this was their mission and Robin was their responsibility, but the fact that their mentors couldn't let them handle it on their own showed a great amount of distrust. Well, right now the feeling was mutual.

Second, The Team was particularly upset that they had been used. They of course thought that the reason Black Canary had been working them so hard was that when they took on Red X they would fight him so much that when The Justice League intervened, he would be too tired to fight them (which is what happened).

The Team was currently sitting on a bench down the hall from an interrogation room in The Watchtower. Red X had been unconscious when he was brought there, so it was very likely that he had no idea he was in space. Since The League knew that The Team was in a sour mood, they were going to let them watch Batman interrogate Red X on a screen from one of the security cameras in the interrogation room.

They watched with impassive expressions yet nervous eyes as Red X waited in the chair for someone to go question him. They had taken his gloves, armor, and mask when he had arrived, and sat weaponless and defenseless, staring at the table in front of him. The Team could see that Robin had gone through a noticeable physical change when he became Red X; he was more muscular, yet clearly paler and he hair was spikier. His clear blue eyes that sparkled like a reflecting pool flitted around the room apprehensively, but other than that, his face was stone hard instead of carefree like it used to be. It was already obvious to The Team of Robin's personality changes too; he was serious, sadistic, focused, vicious, and logical. He hadn't lost his habit of playing with and taunting his enemies, but it was in a more uncaring way- Red X had taken many lives.

They watched him sit and wait calmly in his chair for what seemed like days. Finally, Batman silently strolled by The Team and made his way down the hall and into the interrogation room. Superman, Red Tornado, Black Canary, Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter followed him; they would be watching from the other side of the mirror. Some of the other league members stayed with The Team to watch from the camera.

They all held their breath as Batman calmly opened and closed the door and turned to face his protégé.

Red X watched Batman curiously- he had only seen him once before, but it was obvious he was important. A figure of some sort.

Batman went to stand in front of the table, but he did not sit down. He looked down at Red X with a stern, fixed gaze. Red X stared back at him.

The Team could not tell that Red X was scared- but Batman could. Although the boy had changed greatly, he hadn't lost some of his tics. Batman knew that when Robin was scared, he took deep, slow breaths, which is what he was doing now.

"And you are?" Red X asked quietly.

"Batman." The Dark Knight responded. Red X chuckled at the cheesy name, trying to look collected, but Batman saw past it.

"Right. One of the heroes my master told me about, then." Batman squinted.

"Did your master tell you that I was your mentor before he was?" That made Red X go silent for a moment.

"Just tell me what you want." He said quietly.

"What I want, Robin, is for you to-"

"Red X."

Red X had never corrected anyone before now, but the way Batman said it made strange emotions flood through him.

"Red X. What I want is for you to answer one question, and answer it honestly. Where are Deathstroke and his associates?"

"Like I would tell you."

"I advise that you do."

"You can't do anything to me if I don't. Speaking logically, I have information you need, and as heroes you are above torture and other violent means. Therefore, all you have is your threatening stare and empty threats." Red X said confidently. But Batman did have a way. He knew that using logic against Red X was the only way to get through to him.

Batman sat down in the chair across the table and sat upright. He looked Red X in the eye. "So you respond to logic."

"Yes."

"I assumed so. Now would you mind telling me where the logic was in killing all of those people?"

Red X smiled wickedly. "I highly doubt you would understand, but if you must know, my masters and I have a role to play in the world. As a superior society, we find it in our power to take control of the human race and steer them in the right direction, assisting in their evolution."

Batman scowled. A secret society. He had studied them and their ways for days on end. "And they have a plan to do so? Let me guess- they need the gene splicer, blockbuster formula, and EMP generator for said plan."

Red X was silent, which Batman took as confirmation.

"You avoided the question." Batman noted.

"Killing off some of the inferior shows how powerful we are. Duh. It also expresses our key belief in the power of our society as a whole; the inferior are not an asset to 'the big picture.'" Batman growled. Red X rolled his eyes.

"You said you were my teacher once. If you understood, then you'd be proud of me." Red X argued.

The interrogation room was silent. The spectators from the other side of the mirror and in the hallway held their breathes as they awaited Batman's response. Finally, he leaned forward, his arms crossed on the table in front of him.

"I have always been proud of you, Robin. You're intelligent, determined, and kind hearted. But there is a fault in your logic."

Red X raised an eyebrow. "You don't understand their logic. You have theories, at best." He stated.

"Alright then. First theory: secret societies are real.

Red X leaned forward slightly so he sat up straight. "Recognized- first hand."

"Second theory- secret societies harmfully affect the human experience."

"Recognized." Red X responded with a grin.

"Third theory- Killing the inferior will have a bettering effect on the human experience, as they stand in the way of the greater good."

"Recognized."

Batman stared intensely at Red X. Finally, he said, "All of these theories are based on one belief; the human experience as a whole holds more importance than the lives of the inferior."

Red X seemed surprised at how Batman understood so easily. He nodded. "Yes."

Batman held Red X's gaze. "Yet you risked it all for The Team."

Red X's grin disappeared. Out in the hallway, The League ripped their gazed from the screen to stare at The Team, who looked at each other in shock. What was Batman talking about? Red X seemed to be wondering the same thing.

"What?" He asked quietly, his voice breaking.

"I saw you outside of S.T.A.R. Labs. You made your way to the top of another building for safety before you blew it up. You had the detonator in your hand. But you didn't blow the lab up immediately, like I thought you would. You waited. For ten minutes, you stood there and waited until The Team was safely outside of S.T.A.R. Labs, and then you blew it up. Now, tell me, Red X- why would you spare the lives of the inferior?"

Red X said nothing.

"Because you care for them." Batman's voice got softer, quieter. "Because they bring back emotions that you can't explain. Because they are familiar to you, yet you don't know why. Because deep, deep down… you knew it was wrong."

The Watchtower was silent. No one moved. No one made a sound. They stared dumbstruck at the exchange between Batman and Robin.

Batman leaned forward so his face was an inch away from the shocked Red X's. He stared at intensely at the boy. Finally, Red X spoke.

"You're correct." He whispered. "My logic…is faulted."

"I need their location." Batman whispered.

Red X was silent for a moment. "An abandoned factory in downtown Jump City. Number 13." He whispered.

Batman nodded. "I'll be back soon." And with that, The Dark Knight stood up and walked out of the interrogation room. He met Superman, Red Tornado, Black Canary, Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter outside the door.

"Do you think he was telling the truth?" Superman whispered. They were still in awe.

"Yes. I can tell when Robin is lying."

"But can you tell when Red X is lying?" Wonder Woman asked.

"You did seem to get through to him pretty easily." Black Canary added.

"Since his first run-in with The Team, denial has slowly been building up inside of him. I just had to convince him that his logic wasn't logical. Like Zatara said, the effects of The Blue Trance left him thinking that right is wrong and wrong is right."

"I also sensed sincerity in his words." Martian Manhunter said gravely. "So what is our next move?"

"We infiltrate their hideout." Batman said.

"What about Red X?" Red Tornado asked.

"The Team will stay and watch him." Batman said, ignoring his teammates' uncertain expressions. "Let's go."

Batman went back to the rest of The League and told them of the plan to infiltrate the hideout. Finally, he turned toward The Team. "You will stay and guard Red X _from the monitors only._ You are not to communicate with him under any circumstances until we return. Understood?"

Aqualad nodded. "Yes." He said quietly. No one else spoke.

"Good." He turned to The League. "Move out."

No one said anything. There was nothing to say. The League would go and apprehend Deathstroke and his allies, and then they would come back and decide what to do with Red X. And whatever they decided to do, it wouldn't be good for the young, torn boy. Red X seemed to be aware of all of that.

The Team could only watch with broken hearts as the once deadly Red X put his head in his hands and cried.

**AN: So be sure to tell me what you thought.**

**REVIEW!**


	19. Factory 13

First off, kudos to you if you knew who lives in Jump City. I don't know if I mentioned this, but I hate how there are no new episodes in the summer. These people are really good at cliffhangers (I would know ).

Sorry for the long wait, I've been enjoying my summer! Hope all of you have too!

Well, there's not much else to say since there was no new episode for me to gush over (boo).

Thank you for all of your reviews!

Chapter 19!

The Team just sat and stared at the monitor as Red X silently wept into his hands. Despite all they had been through, it was devastating to see this once mighty assassin's mental instabilities start to break his fragile interior. But while he was a dangerous criminal, he was also a very confused, very lost young boy. And more importantly, he was their friend.

Or, he used to be.

Finally, Wally stood up. His tired team looked at him wearily. "This isn't right." The speedster stated. The Team, of course, didn't know what exactly he was talking about.

"Huh?" Zatanna asked, turning to Artemis, who was right beside her.

"Oh, he's nuts." Artemis responded, as if it explained everything.

Wally decided to ignore her. "We can't just leave him like this. Who knows what The League will do?"

"You mean besides get him help?" Barbara questioned.

"Oh? And just where are they going to get him said help?"

This made The Team stop and think. Of course, they had briefly considered this in the past, but it had always been pushed aside so they could focus on actually capturing Robin first. But now that they had him, it was hard not to think about the young boy's fate. It was hard for them to think about, but they had to wonder; what would they do with him?

"I'll tell you where." Wally said sternly. "_Arkham._"

"No!" Barbara exclaimed, standing up. "Arkham is for the criminally insane. Robin is not a criminal, and he's not insane!" The Team stared at her. Barbara faltered. "Right?"

"Well… he is mentally unstable." Kaldur said.

"And his recent actions could be described as 'criminal'." Roy added.

"But there is absolutely no way that The League would even consider some place like Arkham." Kaldur said, stepping in front of Wally. "I have seen Arkham, and they would not send Robin to it."

"But… where, then?" M'gann asked, afraid of the answer.

"How's about we ask them when they get back?" Roy suggested sarcastically. "And pray that they give us an honest answer."

"Unlikely." Wally scoffed.

"Well, do you have any suggestions?" Artemis asked tiredly. Wally was silent.

"Um…"

"Thought so."

Wally scowled and looked away. He didn't know where The League planned to send their friend…. Wally grinned sadistically. But he knew how they could influence The League's decision.

He turned around slowly, with a stretched smile on his face that practically screamed trouble.

**The Justice League**

Full league response had of course been requested. It was clear that these were no amateurs; they were powerful and dangerous, and if they were able to screw with a young boy's head as much as they had and teach him all of those lethal fighting moves, and equip him with dangerous, high tech gadgets, then Batman needed his entire team there to fight with him.

Batman watched the factory with the large 13 on the front. He stayed in the shadows as The League quietly surrounded it. They observed the factory for any suspicious activity, but it remained dark and quiet; if they hadn't known better, they would have thought the factory actually was abandoned.

Batman gave the signal, and The League quietly edged toward the factory.

**The Watchtower**

"That's insane!" Artemis declared.

"Do you want The League to kill us?" Barbara asked.

"We'd die either way with that bone-headed plan." Roy said.

"Oh, come on guys! It might work." Wally argued.

"Might? Might isn't good enough!" Conner shouted.

"You do realize what you are asking us to do." Kaldur said calmly. He stood up and walked over to Wally until he was directly in front of him. "You want us to defy a direct order given to us by _Batman_ and release a dangerous assassin from League custody. Do you understand how much trouble that would get us in?"

"Loads." Roy said, standing up and stretching. "I'm in."

"What?" Wally asked, flabbergasted. "I mean, uh, great!"

"I'm in too. Who knows, it could work." Zatanna said.

"You'll need my help." Barbara said.

"Me too! Anything for Robin." M'gann declared.

Wally grinned and turned toward the others with a hopeful expression.

"We're going to get in so much trouble for this." Conner sighed. "Fine."

Artemis shook her head. "I wonder about you sometimes Baywatch. We can't just let him out; have you forgotten he stabbed you?"

"Have you forgotten he's being mind controlled _and_ that he was our friend once upon a time?" Wally responded.

Artemis gave him a sad look. She turned toward Kaldur. "You're not really considering this, are you?"

To their surprise, Kaldur smiled.

**The Justice League**

Batman glanced around. The factory was empty- he remembered the castle they had been to six, almost seven months ago, and how far away it was. He suspected that this was some sort of rendezvous point, and since Red X was supposed to be returning from a mission, he knew that this Deathstroke had to be here somewhere.

The League had entered silently from all sides, and on Batman's signal, they took out weapons or got into fighting positions. Something wasn't right; Batman could practically sense it.

Suddenly, the doors and windows shut on their own, locking The League inside Factory 13.

**The Watchtower**

"We are gonna die." Barbara whispered.

"That's reassuring." Zatanna said.

"It's not like he'll kill us." Wally whispered back. The Team was currently crouched down in front of the interrogation room that Red X/Robin was locked in.

"Why are we doing this again?" Artemis asked sourly.

"We need to break Robin out." Roy said flatly.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "I know that! But why?"

"So we can meet up with The League at their current location and help bring down Red X's superiors." Aqualad responded. They had all been surprised when Kaldur agreed to Kid Flash's plan, but nevertheless followed their leader.

"I still don't understand how this will help him." M'gann said.

"Think of it as last minute redemption." Zatanna said.

"Alright, how're we going to do this?" Roy asked, looking at the door of the interrogation room. Everyone turned toward Wally.

"What?"

"Go get him." Artemis said.

"Why me?"

"Because this is your stupid plan, genius." Conner said.

"Well, yeah, but…."

"I will go with you." Kaldur said. He motioned for the others to wait down the hall, and opened the door.

**The Justice League**

The factory instantly filled up with a strange green gas. Flash ran around the large room at super speed, which cleared the gas away.

"So, Red X has been captured? I assumed as much." Deathstroke said from the catwalk he was standing on. "No matter- the boy was breaking anyway. A shame, he had so much potential, but at least I had my fun with him." Batman could tell the man wore and evil smile underneath his mask. A bubbling fury dangerous swelled inside of him, but he suppressed it like he'd been doing for the past seven months.

"Have you come here to arrest me?" Deathstroke asked mockingly when he saw The League get deeper into their fighting positions.

"We have." Superman responded. "I suggest you make it easier on yourself and surrender now. We have you surrounded."

Deathstroke gave a spine tingling chuckle. "Did you really think it would be that easy?"

A large door below him opened, and out flowed Bialyian soldiers, Manta men, assassins, and dark, twisted looking creatures clearly not from Earth. The army was led by none other than Klarion and Cheshire. Soon, The League was caught in the middle.

"Look whose surrounded now?" Cheshire purred, holding up a sai.

"My, won't this be fun?" Klarion cooed, stroking Teekl's head. He laughed a blood curdling laugh, and the army attacked.

**The Watchtower**

Red X had stopped crying only a few minutes ago, so tears still lingered down his white cheeks. He kept his hands in his lap, his head bowed, and his eyes closed, letting out a sniffle every once in a while. He had a bad headache which made his temples throb, but he ignored it. He didn't want to think- he wasn't strong enough right now. So he just sat and kept his thoughts empty. Red X tensed up when he heard the door open.

_Probably Batman again- wants to take me to some mental institution where I'll be locked up forever._ Red X thought.

The door slowly closed, and there was silence, met by some shuffling and quick whispers. Red X opened his eyes and turned sharply toward the intruder, or intruders, neither who was Batman as he expected.

The two figures stopped arguing once they noticed Red X watching them sternly. He recognized the dark skinned leader and Wally. Red X looked down.

"What do you want?" He croaked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw them look at each other. Clearly this hadn't been thought through.

Kaldur gestured for Wally to go talk to Red X. Wally looked at the assassin, then back at his leader.

"I am only here for help." Kaldur whispered. Wally turned to look carefully at Red X.

Slowly, he made his way toward the table and stood on the other side. Red X wasn't armed, but Wally suspected that he could probably kill him with a well-aimed jab to the neck.

"Uh… ahem." Wally said. Red X hesitated for a moment, and then looked up at Wally. Wally bit his lip as he studied his friend. It had been a long time since he had seen the actual Robin; they had been so very close. Wally remembered how they would joke around and play video games and laugh together, and their teammates would roll their eyes at their shenanigans, but smile nonetheless. Wally clearly recalled Dick's sparkling dark blue eyes, his tanned skin, and his cheery smile and little brother like attitude.

Now, Robin was Red X, and he was different. He was tougher, paler, and colder. His eyes were dead, his skin was white, his smile was wicked, and he was uncaring and cruel. Red X looked up at Wally with a deep scowl and a frown, an expression he had never used on his best friend before.

"What?"

"Ah…." Wally glanced at Kaldur, who nodded. Wally turned back to Red X.

"We…well…." Red X raised an eyebrow. Wally sighed and closed his eyes. Finally, he opened them.

"Listen. I know that you're really… confused right now, but… but if you're willing to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of this situation, then you need to come with us." Wally held his breath.

"Oh? And why should I trust you?"

"Good question. Because right now, we're your only hope- you know, if you don't want to be locked away forever."

"I'm listening."

"Right now, the Justice League is on their way to that factory to arrest all of your 'masters'-."

"What?" Red X sat up. "That's impossible. My masters outsmart them by far, there's no way they'd even come back with them- they won't even come back without a few broken bones."

"That's where you come in." Wally said. "We can take you there! You can help us fight them! Robin-" Red X's brows knitted together, "you can become a hero again."

Red X was quiet as he slowly processed what Wally just told him. "I used to be part of your team, didn't I?" He whispered. Wally nodded.

"You were my second in command." Kaldur said from his spot by the door.

Red X looked at Wally. "We were… friends… weren't we?"

"Yeah." Wally said quietly.

Red X didn't say anything for a moment. He squeezed his eyes shut. "I… I can't."

"What?"

"I can't help you. Even if I do… things will never be the same."

Wally knew he was right. Robin would always be his friend, but when he was able to get his memories back on track, he certainly would act different- plagued with guilt and depression, most likely. Strangely, Wally found himself getting mad.

"So? So what, that's it? You're just gonna give up? You're gonna let them do whatever they want to you? The Robin I know wouldn't let Batman push him around. He'd do all he could to make things right, he'd face the problem with his brains and his strength, and he would to the end of the world to accomplish it! But you- you're just gonna let it all go. Know why? It's because you are a _coward_, that's why!"

Kaldur stared at Wally with wide eyes. He had never seen the speedster get so mad. This obviously meant a lot to him.

"What did you say?" Red X asked in a quiet, dangerous voice. Normally, Wally would take that as a signal to back down, but he felt no fear.

"I said you're a coward. What are you gonna do about it?"

Red X shot up, knocking over his chair. "I am _not_ a coward! Do you know the things I've been through? The things I've seen? What I've done? Yet I'm right here- I lived to tell the tales."

"No, frankly, I don't know. And you know what? I don't care. That was in the past, and it has nothing to do with right now! If you want to prove something to us, to The Justice League, and to yourself, then you'd suck up that coward-ness and go kick the asses of those psychos you answer to!"

Red X was silent. He and Wally stared each other down. Finally, Kaldur cleared his throat. Both boys jumped- they forgot he was there.

"I am afraid that time is short. We need a definite answer."

Red X looked down thoughtfully. Could he do it? Could he prove to these people that he was more than the assassin he always thought he was? What would this mean for his future? Red X had so many questions that he desperately wanted answers to. And he knew how he could get them.

"Well?" Wally asked. Red X looked up at him.

"Coward-ness isn't a word." He said quietly. Wally smiled.

"Good. Let's go!" Wally ushered Red X out the door.

"I did not hear him say yes." Kaldur said.

"I did." Wally responded with a grin.

**AN: Wow, this is the longest chapter I've ever written! Again, sorry for the long wait, I've been soooo lazy. No new episodes until September! GRRRRR!**

**REVIEW!**


	20. As Covert As It Gets

Once again, sorry for not updating for a month, I've been busy with my summer activities. I hope you are all enjoying summer! Even though it would be better if there were new episodes.

Please don't kill me?

You know, things are more special if you wait for them.

So, this chapter is pretty much me adding some real villains and a little humor in last minute, so… hehehe.

Thank you for all of your reviews!

Chapter 20!

They were coming from all sides, attacking with everything they had. The League was terribly outnumbered, but that had never stopped them before. They fought with everything they had; weapons, power rings, super powers, martial arts- but creatures and soldiers and assassins came from all sides. Batman turned from a one on five with assassins when he heard a growl, and saw a giant tiger pouncing around. Behind seemed to be other genetically enhanced jungle creatures.

After taking out the assassins, Batman took a careful look around, assessing his surroundings in his detective mind:

_Bialyian soldiers: Queen Bee_

_Manta men: Ocean Master and possibly Black Manta_

_Assassins: Ras' al Ghul_

_Unearthly creatures: Klarion_

_Genetically enhanced animals: The Brain and Monsieur Mallah_

With this new information, many different theories started forming in the detective's mind, but he kept it open nonetheless. He worked his way through assassins and soldiers while the League members with powers handled the animals and monsters. Finally, Batman pulled out a grappling hook and aimed it toward Deathstroke's catwalk. He pulled himself over and landed in front of the man, giving him the best bat-glare Batman had ever given any opponent.

"Are you going to kill me?" Deathstroke asked tiredly. Two batarangs flew toward his face.

**Young Justice**

The ride to Factory 13 was, in short, awkward. Red X, or Robin, sat strapped in his seat gripping the sides of it for dear life. The Team would give him worried or suspicious stares until they would catch Aqualad glaring at them, which meant: 'Look away. Now.'

Kid Flash sat behind Red X, keeping a special eye on him. He wasn't at all sure if this was a good idea: it had been thought up in a moment of fear and desperation. And The League- God, they would gut him! No, forget The League; Batman was the one to be afraid of. Kid Flash wasn't sure what the Dark Knight would be more upset about; The Team disobeying him, or the fact that Red X had been taken out of isolation. The speedster swallowed slowly so as not to be heard and pushed the rather unpleasant thought out of his mind.

"You're nervous." Red X's voice was barely even a whisper.

"How could you tell?"

"Your body language. I'm very effective at reading people. Also, you don't hide it too well." KF didn't respond. Red X couldn't detect sarcasm. Robin could spot it a mile away.

"You should be scared, though." Red X's voice was quieter, if that was possible. "Who knows what horrors they have in store for your superiors there?"

Kid Flash frowned. "We'll get there and come back in one piece. _All_ of us. The League has gone up against worse."

Red X frowned and turned to face Kid Flash. They had retrieved his gear, along with his mask and old utility belt before departing, so his bloodshot blue eyes were once again hidden from The Team forever. He was probably about to say something to crush Kid's spirit before he saw the look on his face.

"If you say so."

Kid crossed his arms and sat back. "Same old Rob." He mumbled. "Thinks he knows everything."

"Oh, far from everything. But I do know that your teammates are having a psychic conversation."

Kid sat up and glared at his team, who instantly found their shoes interesting. Aqualad turned to glare at them all in surprise and disappointment; he clearly wasn't part of their discussion. In retrospect, Kid did notice them glancing at each other, but hadn't given it another thought.

"Wow. We _really_ do suck at hiding it." Zatanna mumbled.

**Factory 13**

The fighting could be heard from outside the factory, and flashes of light could be seen through the window. Miss Martian stopped the bioship on the docks out front, and The Team jumped out to observe the chaos.

"Good Lord." Red Arrow said. Red X sent Kid Flash a pointed look.

"What do we do?" Batgirl asked Aqualad.

"We are a covert operations team. We will sneak in without being seen, and assist The League."

"How?"

Aqualad spotted the entrance to a ventilation system on the roof.

**10 minutes later**

"Ow! Quit it!"

"Sorry, Arty, it's a tight fit."

"I knew I shouldn't have let you go in behind me- Baywatch that better not be your hand."

"Um-"

"You two can get a room later, but right now, for the sake of my sanity, shut the hell up!"

"Sorry Red Arrow."

Red X's superiors had chosen their base wisely- there was no other way in but the ventilation systems. The entire team had been forced to crawl through it to get to the main area in the large factory.

"Baywatch, I'm warning you!"

"Quiet, Artemis, we might be close. I don't want them to hear you." Batgirl said.

"Only if he keeps his eyes where I can see them. This was a stupid idea." She muttered.

"Ugh." Superboy rolled his eyes and Miss Martian and Zatanna giggled.

"This is quite a team you have here. Very formidable." Red X said to Aqualad flatly. Kid Flash, who was in front of Aqualad, thought he saw a tiny, amused smile on Red X's face.

"I think I can hear them." Superboy said.

"Me too. It sounds like we're right above them." Red Arrow, who had gone first, said.

There was suddenly a loud creaking sound coming from around The Team.

"Aw, shit." Red Arrow said before the vent gave in and The Team went tumbling toward the ground, landing on top of each other in heap.

"Not the entrance I had pictured." Kid Flash said as he sat up and rubbed his head.

"Kid! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Flash asked when he zipped over to his nephew and helped him stand.

"We-" Kid Flash froze when he saw what was going on around him. Only some members of The League had really noticed the new arrivals, but those who did were too busy to do anything about them. "My God. What the heck is happening here?"

"We were ambushed." Flash responded. He noticed Red X pulling himself up along with the rest of The Team. "Oh, I so do not want to be here when Batman sees this."

"Where is Batman?" Aqualad asked, glancing around.

"He personally challenged Deathstroke. They left through that door, ripping at each other." Flash answered hastily, pointing to a door behind the catwalk. "But you kids need to get out of here right- where did Robin go?"

The Team glanced around to find Red X gone. Kid Flash looked at the door by the catwalk just as it closed. He smiled to himself.

"Some things never change, no matter what." He whispered. Kid Flash surveyed his surroundings, and then glanced at Aqualad. His leader addressed The Team.

"You know what to do."

And The Team fought alongside The Justice League.

**Batman**

He followed Deathstroke through the door into a dark hallway. He couldn't see the man, but he dodged his surprise attack from behind and tried to kick him, but missed; Deathstroke was fast and strong, and Batman suspected that he could match him.

They went on for ages, dodging attacks trying to hit the opponent with no avail. Batman had the advantage of gadgets, but Deathstroke would either just catch them or swat them away. Finally, Batman flipped in the air, attempting to land a kick on Deathstroke, but the man jumped out of the way and to the side, socking Batman in the stomach and sending him to the ground.

Deathstroke slammed his boot down on Batman's chest and pulled out a long knife.

"Well now, never thought I'd actually be the one to kill the mighty Batman. Although, I did think you'd put up more of a fight." Batman struggled, but Deathstroke lifted up his boot and slammed him again. "I'll have to answer to Joker for this, but it'll be worth it. Don't worry; I'll look after your boy." Deathstroke chuckled, and brought the knife up. There was a twang, and suddenly the knife flew out of his hand and landed down the hall, a birdarang hitting the floor next to it.

**AN: Yes, I'm going to stop there for now. I know; you're all slowly dying inside. **

**IMPORTANT: So after I finish this story, I was thinking of making another one that's sort of just like Robin's recovery file and his therapy sessions, and even some moments at home afterwards. I know you guys will like to see that.**

**Anyway, sorry again for the month of not updating, but I'm warning you all now that I'm going away this weekend, so don't expect another chapter soon. Sorry!**

**REVIEW!**


	21. Some Things

School has started, boo! But we're finally going to get more new episodes! I don't mean to be dark or anything, but I hope they show Artemis's funeral.

I'm warning you all right now; I am NOT good at writing fight scenes. They are fast paced and elaborate, so they don't seem too well when you read them, but I will try my best.

Thank you for all of your reviews! They make me smile (smiley face).

Chapter 21!

Red X was standing a few feet away surrounded by shadows, glaring at Deathstroke. He sent more birdarangs flying toward the man, who dodged them easily.

Deathstroke flipped in front of Red X, who took a semi-nervous step backward. With lightning speed, Deathstroke grabbed the boy's neck and pinned him to the wall. Red X clutched at Deathstroke's iron grip and struggled, but to no avail.

"A pity, really. I trained you to be the perfect assassin, and this is what I get! It seems you still have a soul. For now." He squeezed harder.

"Guess- you- failed." Red X choked out. "You- ruined- me. You- broke- me." Red X coughed, and was about to lose consciousness when a large, dark figure rammed into Deathstroke. Red X slid down to the ground, coughing and gasping for air, and looked into Batman's direction.

He and Deathstroke were fighting again: this time more viciously, throwing punches and kicks instead of taking the time to dodge the other's attack. Red X watched with wide eyes as the two men fought, admiring their advanced skills. He noticed how their attacks would mirror the others; except Batman never fought dirty.

Deathstroke, being his wicked self, grabbed Batman's arm when he threw his next punch. Red X stiffened, and if he had any color in his face it would have disappeared. Deathstroke gripped The Dark Knight's forearm and squeezed. The crack was quiet, and Batman hastily pulled away with a suppressed yet agonized grunt, holding his left arm. Given the time Deathstroke had Batman and Batman's reaction, Red X estimated his radius and ulna were cracked. Batman staggered back slightly, and Deathstroke took the opportunity to roundhouse kick him in the torso.

Once Batman had been forced back, Deathstroke's head shot toward Red X, making him jump. He slowly made his way over to his ex-protégé with his head bowed slightly, causing his mask to be partially covered in shadows. Red X jumped up and got into a fighting stance. Deathstroke chuckled darkly.

"Do you really think you stand a chance against me, boy? I, who trained you?"

Red X scowled. "You didn't train me."

"True." Deathstroke mused. "Batman did start you off, but you were wasting your abilities. Here, you could have been someone."

"I am someone." Red X said. "I'm Robin!" And then he attacked.

**The Justice League/ Young Justice**

Although The League was not at all happy with the arrival of The Team, they had needed a little help. The League is very powerful, but they were outnumbered, and almost outmatched. When The Team showed up, they were upset but a little grateful, as they were powerful as well. The fighting went on, and Kid Flash was up against some assassin from The League of Shadows, and was running in circles around them, attempting to cut off their oxygen so they would pass out. But as he ran, he kept glancing at the metal door by the catwalk, expecting Red X and Batman to come out carrying Deathstroke's unconscious and hopefully very beat-up body, but it never came. Even worse, the assassins saw how Kid Flash wasn't paying attention.

"Wahh!" KF cried as he tumbled forward onto his stomach. One of the assassins had tripped him while he wasn't looking. Kid Flash rolled over onto his back and saw that one assassin was holding a sai to Kid's chest. He suddenly had a brief flashback of a knife plunging into his stomach. Wally gasped, and a second later the assassins were on the ground with discarded boxer glove tipped arrows next to them.

"Are you alright?" Artemis asked, pulling Kid Flash to his feet.

"Of course." He replied not too convincingly. Artemis saw right through it.

"This isn't the time to zone out Baywatch. Act serious." Kid Flash's gaze flickered to the door and then back to her.

"He'll be fine." She reassured quietly.

"I know, but-"

"He has Batman. We're needed here." She said softly. Kid Flash sighed and nodded in agreement. He shoved Artemis out of the way as an enhanced tiger jumped at her. Superboy rammed himself into it, taking the tiger's challenge, leaving Kid Flash on top of Artemis.

"Baywatch."

"Hmm?"

"We're at war."

"So I've noticed."

"Get. Off."

Kid Flash gave an embarrassed little chuckle and helped Artemis up, and they continued fighting with The League, and Wally was finally assured that Robin would be fine.

**Red X**

Red X was violently slammed against the hard metal wall when he tried to strike Deathstroke. The man was fast, strong, and trained to the point where he could take anything. But as big and intimidating as he was, Red X stealthy. He was quick and agile, and could dodge Deathstroke's attacks. He rolled out of the way of Deathstroke's next attack and stood up when he was in the middle of the corridor. Red X avoided his former master's attacks, but he couldn't land a blow himself. With each strike Deathstroke sent his way, Red X would jump back. He back flipped onto his hands and tried to kick Deathstroke in the neck, but the man shoved him back. Red X tried to punch him, but Deathstroke grabbed his forearm when he did. Red X gave a little squeak in terror, and Deathstroke flung the boy against the wall.

Red X was flung hard, and banged his head against the hard metal wall on impact. The world became upside down and dizzy, causing Red X to grab his head and moan.

He blinked furiously, looking at Deathstroke. The man had been slowly walking toward him again, no doubt to finish him off, when two small, flat shapes hit him in the head. Deathstroke turned furiously toward the large, dark figure that had thrown them. Red X could barely make out Batman, with his arm bound with a torn piece of his cape. He charged at Deathstroke again, kicking the man in his torso, and sending more batarangs. Then, Batman made his way over to the still dizzy Red X and knelt down beside him.

"Robin, are you alright?"

"Uggghhh…."

"How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked hurriedly, knowing that Deathstroke could recover and attack again at any moment. Red X felt himself slowly losing consciousness, which was bad since he might have a concussion.

"Robin, can you hear me?" Batman asked sternly in his usual calm, controlled tone.

"Robin? Richard? Dick, _can you hear me?_" He said the last few words in a whisper before Deathstroke knocked Batman aside.

The second Batman had said 'Dick' Red X's eyes snapped open despite the fact that he still couldn't see straight.

And then it happened.

It all came in a rush. The memories, the emotions, it all came back to him. he remembered the circus, growing up with his parents, aunt, uncle, and cousin, he saw them fall of the trapeze, he saw Bruce's outstretched hand leading him into Wayne Manner, he tasted Alfred's cookies, he laughed with Wally and fought alongside Kaldur, he saw them find Superboy and start a team, he remembered when he first saw Barbara fighting off muggers in Gotham as Batgirl, he remembered the way he felt when he first saw Zatanna, and he remembered the pain and devastation when he was on the run from The League and tortured by Klarion. It all came back in seconds.

And all he heard was his name. His real name.

Richard 'Dick' Grayson.

None of his teammates knew his real name, so they weren't able to use it. If they had, he guaranteed he might have remembered a lot sooner.

Red X was in shock. He remembered his hero life, a life with Batman. He recalled how he felt about justice and liberty and fighting for the right cause, which was protecting people. Then he remembered the people he killed, and he was almost consumed with guilt and dread.

Red X looked toward Batman and Deathstroke, who were still battling, although it was clear that Deathstroke was winning.

The boy's eye's narrowed. He knew who he could take his new emotions out on.

**AN: okay, so once again I know it's been forever and you were expecting more, but I need to update this NOW, and I don't feel like writing anymore.**

**Also, I'm going to let all of you vote on what to do with Robin after the next chapter.**

**More on that later****.**

**Can't wait for Satisfaction! I want the logline to it though.**

**REVIEW!**


	22. Depression

So sorry for not updating sooner but I kinda forgot all about it…. hehe.

Okay, NOW I'm all suspicious about Aqualad. And I was so happy he wasn't actually a traitor!

Oh, and THEY BLEW UP THE CAVE! OMG OMG OMG!

Really ticked off. Like, SUPER TICKED OFF.

Oh and just realized that "Queen Bee" was a play on the term "Queen Bee" like what you would call the most popular girl in school.

Thank you for all your reviews!

Chapter 22!

As the bad guys slowly fell one by one and The League and The Team got tired of fighting, they knew that it would only be a true victory if Batman and Robin defeated Deathstroke. Everyone else didn't matter.

When the dark creatures fell, they turned into black smoke and then nothing. Zatara and Zatanna magically bound all the armored men, and the enhanced jungle creatures lay on the ground unconscious.

Kid Flash's undivided attention was on the door. Since most of the bad guys were defeated and the others were only seconds away, he wasn't afraid of getting jumped. He heard footsteps behind him, but he didn't turn around. From the corners of his eyes, he saw his team take their places around him, all eyes on the door. Aqualad put his hand on Kid Flash's tense shoulder.

"They will be fine. Robin is hard to break."

"Yeah." Kid Flash whispered. "But it's not impossible."

Artemis hugged herself uncomfortably and Superboy shifted form foot to foot anxiously. Red Arrow had a death grip on his bow, ready for anything, and Batgirl's hands lingered on her belt. Miss Martian wrung her hands nervously while Zatanna prepped spells in her head. Despite their subtle movements, their eyes stayed on the door. Finally, The League, though worn out and slightly banged up, went to stand behind The Team and watched the door with undivided attention. No one said anything, no one moved. No one even considered going in to see what happened. They just stood among the bodies of their fallen enemies and waited.

Finally, the door opened, and a black and orange one eyed mask appeared.

**Robin**

Deathstroke had Batman by the neck of his armor and pulled back his fist. Spikes came out of the knuckles of his gloves, and his fist went flying towards Batman's face; but it never made it. Robin grabbed Deathstroke's wrist when it was inches from Batman's face, and pushed him backwards.

"What- How-"

Robin walked toward Deathstroke slowly, a deep scowl on his face and his hands balled into fists.

"No matter. I will handle you myself." Deathstroke said. His fist came at Robin, who dodged it with ease. Deathstroke threw more punches, but Robin dodged them as well. Then, with amazing speed and precision, Robin's fist flew at Deathstroke and got him right in the jaw. He was surprised, but easily recovered.

"You are not strong enough to actually injure me, child. It is no more than an amusement."

Robin was in no mood for talking. He jumped went Deathstroke sweep kicked at him and then kick the man in the torso when he landed. Robin flipped over Deathstroke's head while he was still in midair and landed facing him in crouched position. Deathstroke picked himself up immediately. He turned toward Robin furiously, but he was not nearly as angry as The Boy Wonder himself. The deep scowl on his face mirrored Batman's, but other than that he looked almost corpse like. From behind Deathstroke, Robin saw Batman pull out some batarangs.

"No." Robin said in a steady voice. "He's mine."

Batman hesitated, but eventually complied. Robin and Deathstroke went at it longer than Batman had with the villain. It seemed as if Deathstroke never got tired. They went on for a long time, Deathstroke relying on strength and skill, and Robin relying on speed and agility. Finally, when he was so tired he could barely breathe, Robin back flipped a few feet away from the assassin.

"Getting tired, are we? Pity. I'm not." Deathstroke slammed his fist into his hand. Robin watched him, breathing heavily with exhaustion. Batman slid towards Deathstroke, but once again Robin shook his head. Batman looked back sternly in reply. For a brief moment, the scowl on Robin's face vanished. _Trust me,_ the look said. Batman seemed to understand and did so. Robin turned his full attention back to Deathstroke.

He only had seconds, not even, to think of a plan. _Think… what are my strengths? Well, I'm strong, but not strong enough to take him… fast… agile… smart… I'm the smartest on The Team, it's my contribution…. That's it! Outsmart Deathstroke… but how? Let's see… he's cocky… arrogant… confident…. Aha!_

Robin braced himself as Deathstroke came at him. He threw a feeble punch, but Deathstroke dodged it and punched him instead, knocking Robin into the wall. He grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck, and, with an evil chuckle, prepared to end him with his spiked gloves.

He threw the punch, but it never hit its target.

With speed that would make Wally proud, Robin dodged Deathstroke's fist and resurfaced right under the man's nose, sending an uppercut to his chin. Deathstroke backed away, more startled then hurt. Robin flipped forward and punched him in the face again and again and again. Every punch was as strong and forceful as he could make it; each one created a small crack in Deathstroke's hard mask.

Robin continued to beat Deathstroke until he got tired. And it wasn't easy for someone in his magnificent shape to get so tired. Robin watched with sickening satisfaction as Deathstroke crumpled to the ground at his feet.

Robin stood there breathing heavily; with exhaustion or anger it was impossible to tell. After a few moments, Robin felt Batman's presence behind him and the boy fell to his knees. Batman put his hand on his protégé's shoulder. The gesture was minimal yet comforting. Robin gradually calmed down with the knowledge of his real mentor beside him. A little while later, Robin spoke.

"Bruce?" His voice was quiet and horse.

"Yes?"

There was a long pause. "I think I'm depressed."

**AN: OMG this is soooo short but I needed to update! I am seriously pissed off about this delay.**

**IMPORTANT READ NOW!**

**Okay, so when this story ends I will do Robin's Recovery Files as either another story or put it on this one so people who haven't read it don't get confused when they see it on the feed.**

**Also, I will let all of you vote on what to do with Robin. I will list some ideas I have, or you could post some of your own. But keep in mind that some of these choices will not go with the recovery file, so ****I might not be able to write it based on what you guys choose****.**

**1. Robin gets pulled off the team for recovery sessions and time at home and joins months later but he has (obviously) changed.**

**2. Robin gets pulled off the team for recovery sessions and time at home but is not permitted to join the team again.**

**3. Robin runs away from home out of guilt and depression. ****Note- this could be another story, like something big would happen to him.**

**4. Miss Martian wipes his memory so that he doesn't remember anything that happened and the team and league pretends that he was in a coma and decides to never tell him the truth.**

**5. Robin is recaptured by the light. ****Note- could also become another story.**

**If you have something else in mind be sure to tell me so I can consider it, but keep it PG13. Or, you could choose one of the ones given and tweak it if you want. I really don't want to continue this story after the recovery files, since I had other fics in mind that I'm dying to start. Whichever gets to most votes wins.**

**Choose wisely.**

**OH, AND REVIEW!**


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